Top Hamas leaders are throwing cold water on President Biden’s assertion there is a temporary cease-fire in the works that would get Israeli hostages out of Gaza during the holy month of Ramadan.
One official, Ahmad Abdelhadi, told a Lebanese broadcaster that the Palestinian militant group was sticking to its demand for a permanent cease-fire before it releases over 100 people who are still being held inside the densely populated Gaza Strip enclave.
The militants are “not interested in any concessions that do not lead to a complete and total cessation of the aggression against our people,” he said.
Basem Naim, a Hamas spokesman, told The New York Times the group had not received any new proposals since mediators met in Paris last week.
The comments seemed to contradict Mr. Biden’s comments during a Monday interview on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” and his remarks after the taping, when he said a temporary cease-fire could be done after the weekend. The U.S. and international aid groups have been working feverishly for a halt in the fighting, to prevent more civilian casualties and to reopen aid flows to Palestinians caught in the crossfire between the Israeli military and Palestinian militant groups.
“My national security advisor tells me that we’re close, we’re not done yet. My hope is by next Monday we’ll have a cease-fire,” Mr. Biden told reporters.
Qatar, the Gulf Arab nation that is hosting the multinational talks on a new cease-fire deal, said in a Foreign Ministry statement Monday that no breakthrough in the talks had been achieved, but added negotiators remained “upbeat and optimistic” about the course of the talks.
The timing of Mr. Biden’s optimism is notable. He floated the possible cease-fire on the eve of the presidential primary election in Michigan, which is home to large populations of Muslim Americans critical of the administration’s strong tilt toward Israel in the fighting sparked by a Hamas rampage on Oct. 7 that killed some 1,200 people, mostly Israeli civilians.
Thousands of Democratic voters could desert Mr. Biden and vote “uncommitted” in protest of the administration’s support for Israel as it bombards Gaza and the civilian death toll of Palestinians rises.
Any cracks in the Democratic base heading into November could be devastating for Mr. Biden, who won Michigan in 2020 en route to his victory over former President Donald Trump.
Mr. Trump had won the state in 2016 by a roughly 10,700-vote margin over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators said they’re hopeful that 10,000 voters opt for “uncommitted” on Tuesday to send a message to Mr. Biden.
Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat and key progressive, told Politico that the timing of Mr. Biden’s cease-fire remarks was probably intentional.
“Nothing in politics is a coincidence,” he said. “This is happening because the president is hearing that a large part of his coalition wants this war to end.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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