Senior Hamas Official Ghazi Hamad: Egypt And Qatar Have Exerted No Pressure Whatsoever On Us To Accept Biden’s Proposed Ceasefire; Media Reports About Threats To Expel Us From Qatar Are Completely False

Ghazi Hamad, a member of the Hamas political bureau and its ceasefire negotiation team, refuted in a June 9, 2024 phone interview with Al-Arabiya Network (Saudi Arabia) reports about Egyptian and Qatari pressure on Hamas to accept President Biden’s ceasefire proposal. He said that there has been no pressure of any kind on Hamas. Hamad added that media reports about possible arrests, freezing assets, or expulsion from Qatar are completely false.

Interviewer: "What is the truth behind the pressure that is said to be exerted on you, especially by Qatar and Cairo, and the possibility of arrests or assets being frozen, if you do not accept the ceasefire proposed by Biden?"

Ghazi Hamad: "Look, this is stupid, superficial, and completely baseless. Our treatment by our brothers in Egypt and Qatar has always been good. The dialogue with them was open and honest in the past eight months – the contacts, the coordination, the negotiations… We have heard no threat and have seen no signal from either Qatar or Egypt about the need to leave, or any threat of arrests. I believe that this is an attempt to create conflict, using tendentious media propaganda…"

Interviewer: "Okay, but isn't there any pressure of any kind?"

Hamad: "No, none."

Interviewer: "We've heard about this pressure not only from yesterday's Wall Street Journal report. We have been hearing for a month about pressure being exerted on you, and even threats to force you to leave Qatar, and to search for another host country."

Hamad: "Let me reassure you that everything that has been said about this in the media is completely untrue."