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Source: https://thespectator.com/topic/hamas-wont-accept-steve-witkoff-gaza-ceasefire-offer/
Why Hamas Won't Accept U.S. Gaza Ceasefire Offer
(Spectator-UK) Jonathan Spyer - Hamas's rejection of U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff's latest proposal for a ceasefire and hostage exchange in Gaza shows that it is determined to secure the withdrawal of Israeli forces in order to begin replenishing and reorganizing its forces. Any agreement which threatens to reduce the main asset Hamas holds - the remaining Israeli hostages - must be rejected. Hamas sees no reason to soften or compromise its position. Deriving from its Islamist ideology, Hamas is entirely indifferent to loss of life among the residents of Gaza. It also appears to prefer the continued decimation of its own forces rather than accept a continued Israeli presence in Gaza that would make it impossible for Hamas to reorganize. The Gaza Islamists hope through manipulation of Israeli society's high sensitivity to the lives of its own civilians to increase and exacerbate existing societal divisions within Israel, and lead eventually to the cessation of Israel's war effort. A permanent ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal, with Hamas still on its feet, would then legitimately be presented as a victory, helping recruitment and providing inspiration for Hamas and other Islamist and jihadi movements.