Mishaal turns down invitation to visit Cairo, renews rejection of its initiative

Political bureau chairman of Hamas Khaled Mishaal has turned down an invitation to visit Cairo to discuss the Egyptian ceasefire initiative in Gaza.

A responsible source in the Movement said that its leadership received an invitation from Egypt, via intermediaries, to send a delegation led by Mishaal to Cairo to discuss its initiative regarding a ceasefire in Gaza.

The source said in a statement at dawn Sunday that Hamas responded to the invitation saying that its stance vis-à-vis the initiative was known, which meant an indirect rejection of the invitation.

The source, however, expressed the Movement’s readiness to cooperate with any effort by any party that would lead to achieving the Palestinian demands.

Hamas earlier clarified that its rejection of the Egyptian ceasefire initiative was based on the fact that it called for a ceasefire before committing Israel to any of the Palestinian demands.

Palestinian resistance factions had published their proposed ceasefire agreement that included among other articles a comprehensive ceasefire, an end to Gaza blockade, and the release of all detainees in the recent West Bank arrest campaign. They proposed the USA as the guarantor for the implementation of the agreement.