Why Hamas Rejected Witkoff's Ceasefire Plan

The leaders of the Iran-backed Hamas terror group do not seem to be in a rush to end the war with Israel: after all, they and their family members are not living in the Gaza Strip, which has been turned into a war zone over the past 20 months.

Hamas's political leaders, billionaires funded by Iran's mullahs and the rulers of Qatar, live in several Arab and Islamic countries, including Qatar, Turkey, Algeria and Lebanon. They and their family members lead luxurious lives in these countries and do not have to worry about lack of food or medicine.

Most of Hamas's military commanders in the Gaza Strip have been hiding in tunnels since the beginning of the war, triggered by the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led invasion of Israel. Mohammed Sinwar, Hamas's military commander, was recently killed in an Israeli airstrike, together with senior officials of the group, while he was hiding in a tunnel beneath a hospital in the city of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip.

The political and military heads of Hamas initiated a war without preparing Gaza's civilians for an Israeli response. If Hamas figures are to be believed, more than 54,000 Palestinians have died since the beginning of the war. The blood of these Palestinians is on the hands of Hamas, which chose to drag two million residents of the Gaza Strip into a violent and bloody adventure that has brought nothing but death and destruction on them. The blood of these Palestinians is also on the hands of Iran and Qatar, Hamas's largest sponsors and funders.

On October 7, Hamas leaders launched a carefully-planned invasion of Israel, using thousands of terrorists and "ordinary" Palestinians.

More than 1,200 Israelis (and foreign nationals) were murdered and thousands wounded, while another 251 were kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip. Fifty-eight hostages are still held captive by the terror group. Only 20 of them are believed to be alive.

Hamas's total disregard for the lives of its own people were clear from the words of Mousa Abu Marzouk, a senior representative of the terror group, a few weeks after the beginning of the war.

In an interview with Russia Today TV, Abu Marzouk, who is based in Qatar, said that the underground tunnels built in the Gaza Strip are to protect Hamas "fighters", while the responsibility to protect Gaza's civilians is not theirs.

"We have built the tunnels because we have no other way of protecting ourselves from being targeted and killed. These tunnels are meant to protect us from the [Israeli] airplanes... and it is the responsibility of the United Nations to protect [Gazan civilians]."

Since the beginning of the war, Abu Marzouk and other Hamas officials have been whining and crying, from their sumptuous villas and five-star hotel suites, about the death of so many Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Hamas leaders, in addition, did not build bomb shelters for their people. Instead, Hamas invested tens of millions of dollars in building a vast network of tunnels to hide its men and weapons. After the war began, the tunnels were used to hide Israeli hostages. The tunnels have also served to shelter Hamas's military commanders and their families.

In late May, Hamas leaders rejected another ceasefire proposal presented by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff; it did not call for a permanent end to the war with a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Hamas leaders are in no rush to accept any deal because, unlike most of the residents of the Gaza Strip, they do not have to stand in line and risk being shot by Hamas terrorists for trying to receive food from a humanitarian organization (here, here, here and here).

Moreover, the Hamas leadership will never accept any ceasefire without prior permission from the Iranian regime. The mullahs in Tehran also appear in no rush to end the war against Israel. They want the war to continue: it distracts attention from Iran's efforts to acquire nuclear weapons. The mullahs also seem afraid that an end to the war would mean an end to Hamas - one of Iran's major proxies in the Middle East.

Many Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been speaking out against Hamas, especially after its leaders rejected Witkoff's latest proposal. In videos on social media, Palestinians are seen cursing Hamas and urging it to end the war.

"Our houses have been destroyed, we have lost everything, what are they [Hamas] waiting for?" said a man in Gaza. "We are civilians, we are hungry, and our children are getting killed. We have no place to go."

Such voices do not mean anything to Hamas leaders. For them, the No. 1 priority is to make sure that Hamas remains in power the day after the war - the main reason Hamas's leaders have made it clear that their group will not lay down its weapons. They know that whoever maintains a military-security presence in the Gaza Strip controls the entire coastal strip and will control any government that forms there after the war.

Hamas rejected Witkoff's proposal because it wants to continue its jihad (holy war) against Israel. As far as Hamas is concerned, October 7, 2023 was just another phase in its jihad to kill Jews and destroy Israel.

Hamas's leaders do not care if 50,000 or 100,000 Palestinians are killed as a result of their refusal to release the hostages, disarm, and relinquish control of the Gaza Strip. For Hamas, "the end" (eliminating Israel) justifies "the means" (sacrificing Palestinians as "martyrs" in the jihad against Israel).

That is why there is no alternative to a total defeat of Hamas and its removal not only from power, but also from the entire Palestinian arena.

If Hamas is allowed to stay in power after the war, it will be bad news not only for Israel, but also for Palestinians who oppose the terror group. However, Hamas staying in power would be great news for the Iranian regime, jihadis, and Islamist terror groups who consider the US the "Great Satan" and are committed to killing Americans, Christians, Jews and all other "infidels."

Originally published at Gatestone Institute