Hamas pressured from all sides as it weighs Trump's Gaza plan

 A U.S.-sponsored ceasefire proposal for Gaza on Tuesday was hinging on Hamas's response to the 20-point plan which President Donald Trump has said was "beyond very close" to ending the two-year-old conflict in the enclave.

Mediators Qatar and Egypt shared the document with Hamas late on Monday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood alongside Trump at the White House and pledged his support for the proposal because he said it met Israel's war aims.

Hamas was not involved in the negotiations that led to Trump's plan, which calls on the Islamist militant group to disarm, a demand it has previously rejected.

A source close to Hamas told Reuters the plan was "completely biased to Israel" and imposed "impossible conditions" that aimed to eliminate the group.

However, an official briefed on the talks told Reuters early on Tuesday that Hamas negotiators "would review it in good faith and provide a response".

HAMAS FACES PRESSURE FROM MUSLIM NATIONS TO ACCEPT

Trump warned Hamas that if it rejected his offer, Israel would have full U.S. support to take whatever action it deemed necessary.

The plan specifies an immediate ceasefire, an exchange of all hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, a staged Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas and the introduction of a transitional government led by an international body.

Many elements of the 20 points have been included in numerous ceasefire deals proposed over the last two years, including those accepted and then subsequently rejected at various stages by both Israel and Hamas.

One of Hamas’s main conditions since the outset of the war has been a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in return for the release of the remaining hostages. And while the group has indicated its readiness to relinquish administrative authority, it has consistently ruled out disarming.

"What Trump has proposed is the full adoption of all Israeli conditions, which do not grant the Palestinian people or the residents of the Gaza Strip any legitimate rights," a Palestinian official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.

However, Hamas faces considerable pressure to accept the plan, with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Egypt all welcoming the initiative.