A member of Hamas’ political bureau, Mahmoud Al-Zahar said on Thursday that the ceasefire agreement with Israel depends on the lifting of the Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip.
“The ceasefire with the Israeli occupation remains in place and if Israel wants to keep it in place it must pay its price, which is a full lifting of the blockade on Gaza,” Zahar said in remarks to Safa news agency.
“The Palestinian factions have agreed during the Cairo negotiations on a period of calm in exchange for lifting of the siege, and if the Israeli occupation is interested in the ceasefire or expanding a truce it must lift the siege on Gaza, because nothing comes without a price,” he added.
Zahar stressed that Israel has not as yet lifted the siege; “therefore, the question here is for how long will the truce that was agreed upon remain in effect?”
Palestinian factions and Israel reached a ceasefire agreement on 26 August last year under Egyptian auspices ending 51 days of Israeli aggression against the enclave.
Several media sources reported that efforts being exerted by mediators to consolidate the ceasefire agreement in exchange for a total lifting of the blockade and the establishment of a waterway to the world have yet to reach a final agreement.