Hamas Did Not Receive Any Conditions for Truce From Israel, Politburo Member Says

DOHA (Sputnik) - Palestinian movement Hamas did not receive any conditions from Israel for an armistice, Israel does not have the right to dictate them, a member of the movement's political bureau, Husam Badran, said in an interview with Sputnik.

"We do not accept conditions from the occupiers, and no one spoke to us about this. The occupier is the aggressor, and to resist him is heroism, and the enemy has no right to set conditions for us to end his aggression," Badran said.

He noted that political contacts on the part of Hamas have been continuing since the first hours of the aggression, and they occur every day, the head of the movement Ismail Haniyeh is responsible for them. The main negotiators who seek to achieve an armistice are Egypt, the UN, Qatar and other countries, the representative of the Hamas leadership noted. 

Last week, special representatives of the Middle East Quartet of international mediators — Russia, the United States, the EU and UN — discussed holding a meeting on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict settlement. 

Violent clashes broke out from May 7-10 between Palestinians and Israeli police, leading to the worst conflict in recent years. Riots began in two areas of East Jerusalem at once — near the Temple Mount and in the Sheikh Jarrah quarter, where several Arab families are being evicted by the Israeli court decision.

The situation on the border between Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip has been deteriorating for the past week amid heavy rocket exchanges.