Hamas says Trump’s Gaza plan cannot be implemented without negotiations

Senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzook told Al Jazeera that the group has given a "positive" response to US President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan.

Read more: Hamas officially responds to Trump’s Gaza proposal

He said Hamas agreed to the plan's main principles but stressed that its implementation "cannot happen without negotiation."

Abu Marzook added in statements to Al Jazeera that Hamas's priority is to "stop the war and massacres" and that the group has dealt with the plan from that perspective.

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Abu Marzook stated that Hamas is concerned with nine points of the 20-point plan, while the rest are a matter for a broader Palestinian consensus, not for Hamas to decide alone.

Read more: White House releases full text of Trump's 20-point Gaza peace plan

He said that while the group is open to negotiations, the proposal's call for the handover of all captives and bodies within 72 hours is "theoretical and unrealistic" in the current circumstances. He also added that implementing the plan requires "detailing and understanding."

Regarding the issue of disarmament, Abu Marzook said Hamas will "hand over weapons to the coming Palestinian state and whoever governs Gaza will have weapons in their hands."

He confirmed there is a national consensus to hand over Gaza's administration to independent technocrats, with the Palestinian Authority serving as its "reference point."

The Hamas official also said the group is ready to enter negotiations on all issues related to the movement and weapons and called on the United States to "view the future of the Palestinian people positively."