Hamas and Jihad Welcome Trump's Desire to Accelerate Ceasefire Agreement in Gaza

The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Islamic Jihad welcomed what was reported by the Israeli Channel 12 from White House officials that US President Donald Trump wants to achieve faster progress in the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas spokesperson in Gaza, Hazem Qassem, said: "We are in favor of any effort to move forward in the stages of the ceasefire agreement with its various entitlements."

He added: "The matter is not about accelerating the ceasefire agreement, but about implementing what it entails, and the principle is to move to the second phase after the first phase has been completed, and Hamas' commitment to handing over the living prisoners and bodies, and thus there is an entitlement to proceed to the second phase."

Israeli Channel 12 quoted White House officials as saying that Trump wants the ceasefire agreement to progress at a faster pace, and that next month (January) will witness the announcement of a Peace Council and a technocratic government and a stability force in the sector.

Regarding the handover of the last body of an Israeli prisoner in Gaza, Qassem confirms that "this matter is not a condition for moving to the second phase, but rather a condition fabricated by Israel to hinder entry into it. As for the principle, it is to start with the details of the second phase as soon as the living and dead prisoners are handed over, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hindering this for his political interests and internal calculations."

According to American officials, Trump's team is increasingly frustrated with Netanyahu's steps that undermine the agreement, with one American official accusing Israel of delaying the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and sometimes violating it, while another official said: "It seems that the Israelis have regretted the Gaza agreement for some time."

Meanwhile, Hebrew media quoted an Israeli official as saying that there is a divergence in positions between US President envoy Stephen Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner on the one hand, and Netanyahu's position on the second phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

The transition to the second phase of the Gaza agreement is stumbling despite nearly 3 months having passed since the start of the implementation of its first phase, at a time when indicators are rising that the stagnation is not technical as much as it is linked to Israeli internal calculations, and the ceiling of conditions set to complete the agreement.

Regarding Hamas' position on the "Peace Council," Qassem says: "This council should have a supervisory role over the reconstruction and relief of the Gaza Strip, and the arrangements for that and mobilizing the international will for rapid completion," while the administration of internal affairs must be purely Palestinian as agreed upon.

Islamic Jihad spokesperson Muhammad al-Haj Musa agrees with Qassem on the necessity of "forming a national technocratic Palestinian government," explaining that the task of this government "is defined by managing the transitional phase and reconstruction."

Al-Haj Musa says: "This government must consist of competent and independent Palestinian technocrats from Gaza people, to ensure their understanding of the specificity of the reality and their direct suffering."

He adds: "This government must be announced and empowered by a legitimate and representative Palestinian body that enjoys national consensus, to preserve the independent Palestinian national decision."

The occupying state continues to violate the ceasefire agreement, and according to the documentation of the Ministry of Health, hundreds of Gazans have been martyred and injured since the agreement was reached on October 10, in addition to the ongoing demolition operations of what remains of homes and buildings in Rafah city and the east and north of the sector.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the two main factions among the Palestinian resistance factions, have proven their commitment to what they agreed upon under the ceasefire agreement, and not being drawn into the daily and repeated Israeli violations.

Spokesperson al-Haj Musa says: "The whole world witnesses that the occupation has not committed to implementing the agreement, nor even to applying the provisions of its first phase, and more dangerously, it has repeatedly violated the ceasefire, and continued its daily crimes against our people and land, which undermines the credibility of the agreements and puts the entire path on the brink of the abyss."

Nevertheless, he affirms "Islamic Jihad's steadfast commitment to the signed agreements," and calls for speeding up the implementation of the second phase, "which must clearly and inevitably lead to the withdrawal of the occupation army from the Gaza Strip, opening Rafah crossing and all crossings, importing relief materials without restrictions, and securing the return of displaced people to their areas."

Al-Haj Musa emphasizes his movement's rejection of "any talk about disarming the resistance," and added: "We reject the conditions set by the occupation to obstruct the transition to the second phase, and we hold the American administration responsible for obligating the entity government and the occupation army to fully implement the agreement."

He continues: "The facts prove that America is blatantly colluding with the occupation, covering up its daily violations, abandoning its role as a guarantor and impartial mediator, which has encouraged the occupation to further persistence and aggression."

The spokesperson conditions the success of the agreement on "the full implementation of its entitlements, and stopping all forms of American collusion and international silence regarding the crimes committed by the entity."