The Jerusalem Post reports: Hamas claimed on Monday that it was Israel who had “begged” for last week’s ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The claim came in response to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement to the effect that Hamas rulers “begged for a ceasefire and they know why.” Netanyahu made his statement at a memorial service last week for Israel’s first prime minister David Ben-Gurion.

Husam Badran, member of the Hamas “political bureau,” was quoted as saying that Israel “knows that it can start a war, but that it’s impossible to end it. That’s why Israel begged for a ceasefire through mediators.” Badran told the Arabi 21 news source that Hamas was not asked to “pay a political price” for any understandings with Israel regarding a long-term truce. Such understandings, he added, will not impose any restrictions on the Palestinian “resistance.”

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