Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called on Hamas to release the hostages the Islamist movement is still holding in the Gaza Strip, Agence France-Presse reports, BTA reports.
"Hamas has given the criminal occupation a pretext to commit atrocities in Gaza. The most obvious of these is the hostage-taking", Abbas said during a meeting in Ramallah.
"I am paying the price for this, our people are paying the price, not Israel. Release them", he insisted.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported that Arab mediators are working on a new proposal to end the war between Israel and Hamas. The plan includes a truce for 5 to 7 years and the full release of the remaining hostages. Egypt and Qatar are continuing their efforts on the deal, which also provides for a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
According to the AP, Israel has so far refused any agreements that would allow “Hamas“ to maintain its influence in Gaza or to rearm. Israel ended a previous truce with the movement last month and said it would continue the operation until all hostages are returned and “Hamas“ is completely destroyed or disarmed.
There has been no official comment from Israel so far. The Donald Trump administration, which is also involved in the efforts to negotiate a truce, has said it fully supports Israel's position.
“Hamas“ in turn refuses to disarm while Israel continues to occupy Palestinian territories. A representative of the group expressed distrust of both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the United States, citing the failure of previous agreements.
Egyptian sources indicate that mediators believe that President Trump will insist on reaching an agreement before his announced visit to the region, scheduled for May 13-16.