On Friday, the Hamas movement described the Israeli occupation’s positions on the negotiations on a prisoner exchange deal with the Palestinian factions in Gaza and the ceasefire as “negative.”

This came in a press conference by the leader of the movement, Osama Hamdan, held in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

Hamdan said, “The occupation’s positions and responses to the mediators are negative and pose many obstacles to reaching an agreement.”

He added, "Israeli Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu is stalling and evasive and aims to disrupt reaching an agreement. He does not care about the release of prisoners held by the resistance. Rather, it is a card he uses to achieve his goals."

Hamdan added, "Netanyahu holds his delegation responsible for any upcoming negotiations with four nos: no cessation of aggression, no withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, no return of the displaced to the north, and no real exchange deal."

He considered that "Netanyahu's private and personal goals, and those behind him, the group of extremist settlers who form the backbone of his fascist government, clash with all the initiatives and positions proposed."

Hamdan pointed out that his movement “dealt in a positive spirit with the mediators’ proposals and initiatives, and based its positions on its clear priorities of stopping the aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip, and ending their human suffering, which was caused by the Zionist machine of killing and destruction, and the freedom of movement of our people and their return to their homes and areas in North of the Strip, and in all its areas, and the necessity of urgent relief, shelter, and the start of reconstruction.”

He pointed out that “the Netanyahu government’s insistence on continuing the war of extermination against civilians in the Gaza Strip, without even caring about the killing of more (Israeli) prisoners held by the resistance, under the barbaric Zionist bombing, will not be stopped by mere ideas and initiatives, but rather requires firm positions and practical measures to end the aggression.” “And responding to the rights of our people and ending the occupation.”

Hamdan considered that the Netanyahu government, “which sees prolonging the war as a primary goal, to escape the entitlements of the post-aggression phase, still adopts an intransigent position regarding the just demands put forward by the Hamas movement and the Palestinian resistance factions, most notably the cessation of the aggression and the return and shelter of the displaced.” And lifting the siege to rebuild what was destroyed by the Zionist aggression.”

He added that this "requires the international community and concerned countries to properly diagnose the current situation."

Hamdan's statements came coinciding with the start of the Paris meetings to discuss reaching a calm in the Gaza Strip, in the presence of the delegations of Hamas and Israel, and the participation of Egypt, Qatar and the United States.

The meetings aim to achieve calm in Gaza, release Israeli and Palestinian detainees, and support the humanitarian situation in the Strip.

In this context, Osama Hamdan said that his movement agreed with the Palestinian factions to form a government to provide relief to the Palestinians, rebuild Gaza, and prepare for elections.

In a press conference, on Friday evening, Hamdan called on the official and popular sides, in the countries through which land shipments pass to supply the occupation with goods, to stop them, in light of the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip and the brutal starvation process against the Palestinians.

The Hamas leader said that the war of starvation and massacres in Gaza would not have continued without the support of the American administration.

He added: "American spy planes fly over the Gaza Strip around the clock to identify targets, monitor leaders, and find prisoners."

Regarding reports of the occupation’s violations against Palestinian female prisoners, which revealed cases of sexual harassment and rape, Hamdan said, “We call for an independent and rapid international investigation into the UN report on Israeli violations against Palestinian women.”

Regarding the situation in occupied Jerusalem, and the occupation’s threats to restrict the number of worshipers during Ramadan, Hamdan warned that “the explosion is coming and the anger is coming, and the occupation’s decision to restrict freedom of worship in Al-Aqsa, during Ramadan, will not pass without accountability, no matter the sacrifices and costs.”

He called for "mobilizing to Al-Aqsa Mosque, to let the occupation know that attacking the place will not pass without accountability, whatever the cost."