GAZA, May 31 (AP/AFP): Hamas said Friday it was still reviewing a U.S. proposal for a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, where 27 people were killed in new Israeli airstrikes, according to hospital officials.
The ceasefire plan, which has been approved by Israeli officials, won a cool initial reaction Thursday from the militant group. But President Donald Trump said Friday negotiators were nearing a deal.
"They're very close to an agreement on Gaza, and we'll let you know about it during the day or maybe tomorrow," Trump told reporters in Washington. Late in the evening, asked if he was confident Hamas would approve the deal, he told reporters: "They're in a big mess. I think they want to get out of it."
U.S. negotiators have not publicized the terms of the proposal. But a Hamas official and an Egyptian official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks, said Thursday that it called for a 60-day pause in fighting, guarantees of serious negotiations leading to a long-term truce and assurances that Israel will not resume hostilities after the release of hostages, as it did in March.
In a terse statement issued a few hours before Trump spoke, Hamas said it is holding consultations with Palestinian factions over the proposal it had received from U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.
A United Nations spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, urged the parties to "find the political courage" to secure an agreement.
While changes may have been made to the proposal, the version confirmed earlier called for Israeli forces to pull back to the positions they held before it ended the last ceasefire.
Israel will not cooperate with a planned visit by Arab foreign ministers to the occupied West Bank, an Israeli official announced, after a Saudi source said the kingdom's top diplomat was heading to Ramallah.
Israel controls the Palestinian territory's borders and airspace, meaning its approval would be needed for the diplomats to enter.
"The Palestinian Authority-which to this day refuses to condemn the October 7 massacre-intended to host in Ramallah a provocative meeting of foreign ministers from Arab countries to discuss the promotion of the establishment of a Palestinian state," the Israeli official said late Friday.
"Such a state would undoubtedly become a terrorist state in the heart of the Land of Israel. Israel will not cooperate with such moves aimed at harming it and its security."
The comment came hours after a diplomatic source told AFP that Prince Faisal bin Farhan would become the first Saudi foreign minister to visit the West Bank on Sunday.
CNN reported that ministers from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and Turkey would also take part.
Israel this week announced the creation of 22 new West Bank settlements, which are regularly condemned by the United Nations as illegal under international law, and are seen as one of the main obstacles to a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
On Friday, visiting one of the areas slated for recognition, Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed to build a "Jewish Israeli state" in the West Bank.
Taking aim at foreign countries that would "recognise a Palestinian state on paper", he added: "The paper will be thrown into the trash bin of history, and the State of Israel will flourish and prosper."
In June, Saudi Arabia and France will co-chair an international conference at UN headquarters meant to resurrect the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Saudi Arabia was said to have been close to recognising Israel before the start of the Gaza war, and US President Donald Trump, during a recent visit to Riyadh, called normalisation between the countries "my fervent hope and wish".
But de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said Saudi Arabia will not recognise Israel without an independent Palestinian state.
