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From the Liveblog of
Saturday, March 22, 2025
From the Liveblog of
Saturday, March 22, 2025
Responding to Witkoff, Hamas vows no demilitarization ‘as long as the occupation exists’
Nurit Yohanan is The Times of Israel's Palestinian and Arab world correspondent
Steve Witkoff, special envoy to the Middle East, speaks to the press outside of the White House on March 6, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images North America via AFP)
Senior Hamas official Hussam Badran tells the Hamas-affiliated Palestinian news agency Shabakat Quds that US envoy Steve Witkoff’s remarks about the terror group needing to demilitarize if it wants to remain politically involved in Gaza is “a meaningless proposal as long as the occupation [Israel] exists.”
“When we talk about the weapons of the resistance, they are the weapons of the Palestinian people. Therefore, these weapons are carried by Palestinians to resist the occupation, as guaranteed by international laws and conventions,” adds Badran.
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