Why Hamas Resists all Foreign Demands for Surrender

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The Cradle has learned from informed sources close to Hamas that a recent US proposal, delivered to Hamas senior political leader Khalil al-Hayya [thecradle.co], who is currently based in Doha, was flatly rejected. The offer, which called for the surrender of the Palestinian resistance movement and the departure of its leadership from the Gaza Strip, was dismissed with a blunt response, “Let them do what they want.”

A day later, on 30 March, Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly vowed to intensify the war on Gaza, escalating both the siege and the bombardment of the strip. By dawn, as Palestinians prepared for Eid al-Fitr [thecradle.co], a feast marking the end of Ramadan, Gaza came under one of the most intense barrages of the war. Explosions thundered across the strip, shaking homes and sending shockwaves as far as occupied Beersheba and the Negev.

The American proposal reportedly included safe passage for Hamas fighters and their families, financial guarantees, and promises of protection from assassination. When Hamas rejected the offer, Washington notified Tel Aviv, prompting Netanyahu to double down on his war aims: Hamas must either disarm or be driven into permanent exile, in line with US President Donald Trump’s displacement doctrine [thecradle.co]. Ideally, Netanyahu appears determined to secure both outcomes.

False dawns and broken promises 

Despite Zionist media claims of progress in truce talks since 27 March and speculation of a ceasefire timed with Eid, the reality was marked by fresh massacres [thecradle.co] carried out by the occupation army. No short-term or long-term truce materialized.

Nonetheless, due to sustained Egyptian pressure, a deal remains possible, however slim. The Arab push for an endgame in Gaza – driven by the UAE [thecradle.co] and backed by Saudi Arabia and Jordan, though contested in part by Egypt – is rooted in a desire to sweep the file clean for the sake of regional normalization with Tel Aviv.

Netanyahu, however, continues to sabotage every initiative. He accepts only what serves his single aim: maintaining power. War is to continue regardless, even as an occupation Channel 12 poll reveals 69 percent of Zionist citizens support a comprehensive deal to bring home all prisoners and end the war, and 70 percent [www.timesofisrael.com] say they no longer trust Netanyahu’s government.

Egypt’s latest proposal included the release of five living Zionist captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and a 40-day halt to fighting. The ceasefire window would allow wounded civilians to be evacuated via Rafah and humanitarian aid to re-enter Gaza. Hamas agreed but asked for 50 days, and that a Palestinian prisoner be released every 10 days. The occupation state refused.

Sources inform The Cradle that Zionist demands were inconsistent and disruptive. At different stages, Tel Aviv insisted on 10 living captives, then 11 – some alive, others dead – before proposing a 40-day ceasefire, leaving mediators disoriented and negotiations stalled.

In a gesture preceding the rejected surrender deal, Hamas shared information – via Qatari and Egyptian intermediaries – about the condition of American-Zionist captive Alexander Idan. Yet Washington’s envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, displayed no indication that the US would pressure Israel to engage with any Hamas-compatible proposal. Instead, the message felt in Doha, Cairo, and Gaza alike was one of American indifference. Washington’s attention, it appears, is instead heavily focused on battlegrounds in Ukraine and Yemen.

Arab complicity reaches new heights

Middle East Eye recently reported [www.middleeasteye.net] Jordan’s offer to expel 3,000 Hamas members from Gaza, disarm other resistance factions, and hand governance to the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA). The Cradle has independently confirmed that Jordan’s King Abdullah II adopted an especially aggressive stance during the Riyadh mini-summit, aligning with the UAE in urging Hamas’s eradication, “They believe that they will remain.”

It is Abu Dhabi, however, that has emerged as the true driver behind the shift in US posture, its harsh maneuvers over Gaza even raising concerns among allies. Cairo, for one, reportedly sought Saudi help to contain the Emiratis, while the US-backed, West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA) – though eager for Hamas’s downfall – fears being sidelined in the process.

Egyptian sources describe aggressive UAE lobbying for immediate displacement of Gazans, while Zionist crossings have seen a drop in aid shipments, despite Abu Dhabi holding privileges for such transfers – privileges now withheld even from Jordan. Meanwhile, high-level UAE–Zionist coordination continues, exploring “scenarios” that deliberately exclude aid deliveries, despite repeated Egyptian pleas.

According to the sources:

“There are inappropriate Emirati moves that threaten Egyptian interests, national security, and even the Palestinian cause directly, but we cannot speak out and confront Abu Dhabi directly for many considerations. Egyptian fears now are that the UAE is trying to carry out large-scale plans to blow up the Gaza Strip from within by stimulating protests against Hamas and creating confrontations between the people and the resistance. It even amounted to Emirati funding through Israel for any Gazan who wants to demonstrate against Hamas.”

Cairo believes Abu Dhabi is even more eager than Tel Aviv to realize Trump’s displacement scheme and is willing to bankroll it, The Cradle’s sources say. With Egypt refusing to open its borders [thecradle.co] to mass displacement, alternate US–Zionist plans involve evacuating Gazans by sea to Cyprus, then to third countries. Observers say the occupation army’s evacuation maps point not to Rafah but to the Mediterranean Sea.

Abu Dhabi has even sounded out an African state – via its own channels – on the occupations behalf to accept displaced Gazans.

Even Egypt, traditionally Hamas’s fallback, has shown signs of distancing itself since the resistance movement halted large-scale operations. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Ati recently declared that “factions will not rule Gaza anymore” – the first official Egyptian statement on post-war governance, which previously centered on a “management committee,” including Hamas indirectly.

Occupied West Bank next in line for fragmentation 

Meanwhile, the Hebrew daily Yedioth Ahronoth revealed Zionist plans to fragment the occupied West Bank into autonomous city-states, dismantling the PA [www.watanserb.com], and replacing it with local councils. The blueprint begins in Hebron (Al-Khalil), where Israel intends to install a compliant local leadership working directly with the occupation.

The plan was reportedly discussed during a secret UAE meeting that brought together West Bank Jewish settlement leaders and Emirati officials at a Ramadan iftar.

This aligns with annexationist policies [thecradle.co] pushed by far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. The UAE’s role appears increasingly active – amplifying PA corruption accusations while building direct ties with the Jewish settler movement, bypassing the occupation’s own government. This calculated outreach undermines any pretense that normalization with the Arab world might lead to Palestinian statehood.

“We continue, with God’s help, to lead a revolution of normalization and regulation in the settlement,” Smotrich was quoted as saying. “Instead of hiding and apologizing, we raise the flag, build, and settle. This is another important step on the way to actual sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.”

During Ramadan, a West Bank settlement delegation visited Abu Dhabi and met with Dr Ali Rashid al-Nuaimi, UAE National Council member, Zionist Ambassador Yossi Sheli, UAE businessmen, and social media influencers.

The Zionist newspaper also quoted the head of the settlement council, Yisrael Gantz, as saying, “There is a new world order that requires new alliances and thinking outside the box.”

The delegation disclosed little, but according to Yedioth Ahronoth, they sought to assure UAE officials that normalization does not require evacuating Jewish settlements. UAE ties with settlement leaders like Nablus Council head Yossi Dagan date back years, with trade links forged under the Trump administration. Settlers now openly bypass Tel Aviv to deal directly with Persian Gulf capitals.

Hamas braces for a final stand

With famine at catastrophic levels, regional support dwindling, and the resistance fronts – save for Yemen [thecradle.co] – largely subdued, Hamas now confronts a stark dilemma. The movement, facing internal and external pressure to capitulate, insists that surrender remains unthinkable.

Sources within the group say even some Muslim Brotherhood-linked entities urged them to fold, citing the scale of devastation. But Hamas’s rejection is not about survival or political continuity – it is about safeguarding the very idea and practice of resistance. Accepting exile would mark not just Hamas’s end, but the liquidation of Palestinian armed struggle across all factions.

Worse still, surrender would not prevent mass displacement, but would accelerate it. The collapse of Gaza would send shockwaves through the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the 1948 territories, heralding the final act of the Palestinian cause.

Even though the latest truce proposal would reduce the number of living Zionist prisoners of war held by the resistance – now estimated at 20 out of 59 – Hamas accepted it to ease Palestinian suffering and buy time. But the movement remains under no illusion: Israel has no intention of stopping the war, especially with the full political and military backing of the Trump administration.

Hamas has resolved to continue the fight regardless of the cost. “If we are to be eliminated,” one source tells The Cradle, “let it be in an honorable battle, not in exile.” They cite the Sabra and Shatila refugee camp massacres [thecradle.co] as a grim lesson: once the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) left Lebanon, the residents of the defenseless camps were butchered. The difference now is that Hamas is on its own land, among its own people.

Tactically, resistance has shifted. The Zionist presence in Gaza has eroded the battlefield, leaving little room for maneuver. The Qassam Brigades now relies on ambushes, waits for troops to enter dense urban terrain, and fires sporadic rockets to maintain psychological pressure, particularly through videos of Zionist captives designed to torment the occupation government.

The battle continues – and Hamas intends to face it, not flee it.

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