Hamas and other Islamic terrorists reject terms of ceasefire proposal requiring that they give up power in Gaza

Hamas terrorists and their allies in Islamic Jihad have shot down Egypt's ceasefire proposal. While still open to bartering with the lives of Israeli hostages in order to temporarily stave off annihilation, the terror groups appear unwilling to surrender control over Gaza or make other concessions per the terms of the proposal.

Egypt developed the ceasefire proposal with the Hamas-friendly Gulf state of Qatar and presented it to Israel, Hamas, the U.S., and various European governments on Monday, reported Al Jazeera.

The proposal asks that Israel fully withdraw from Gaza and for the establishment of a technocratic Palestinian regime to oversee the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Qatar, Egypt, and the U.S. would coordinate on the formation of this new "non-factional" regime.

The proposal further calls for multiple rounds of hostage and prisoner exchanges where Hamas would turn over civilians first, then female Israeli soldiers. Israel would in turn free some of the thousands of Palestinians it presently holds on security-related charges or convictions.

After the initial exchanges, Egypt proposed that Israel and the Islamic terrorists would engage in "a month of negotiations to discuss the release of all military personnel held by Hamas in exchange for a lot more [Palestinian] prisoners."

Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas' political bureau, said in a statement on Christmas, "We reiterate that there are no negotiations without a comprehensive cessation of aggression. The leadership of the movement seeks with all force to stop the aggression and massacres against our people completely."

The terrorist spokesman, whose comrades' terror plot in Europe was recently thwarted, indicated further that Hamas is not interested in "temporary truces or a partial truce for a short period, after which the aggression and terrorism will continue."

Reuters reported that a senior Islamic Jihad official indicated that his group — which, like Hamas, seeks the military destruction of Israel — noted a similar unwillingness to agree to any concessions besides possibly turning over more hostages seized on Oct. 7.

The Islamic Jihad delegation in Cairo reportedly floated the fanciful suggestion that the group will not turn over Israeli hostages until Israel releases all Palestinians presently in its custody.

Islamic Jihad militants reportedly still have a number of Israeli hostages in captivity. Over 100 Israeli hostages are believed to still be in the clutches of Hamas terrorists.

The Associated Press reported that Israeli officials, faced with sustained albeit ineffective Hamas rocket attacks Monday, were similarly less than enthused about the proposal.

Mohammed Cherkaoui, a diplomacy professor at George Mason University, told Al Jazeera that one of the proposal's many tripping points is its requirement that Israel back down from its pledge to eradicate Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told members of his Likud Party, "We are expanding the fight in the coming days and this will be a long battle and it isn't close to finished."

Netanyahu noted in a Monday post on X, "We don't stop and we won't stop fighting. The war continues to the end. Until Hamas is finished, no less than that."

So far, 156 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the fighting extra to the over 1,200 Israelis massacred on Oct. 7. According to Time, 20,400 Palestinians have been killed over the past 11 weeks.

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