Hamas movement has issued a sharp response to recent comments by Steve Wietkoff, the special envoy of U.S. President Donald Trump, who reportedly claimed that Hamas was ready to lay down its weapons. In an official statement, Hamas firmly rejected the claim, calling it unfounded.
“We firmly deny the reports circulated by certain media outlets quoting Wietkoff,” the statement said. “We reiterate that as long as the Zionist occupation continues, resisting and fighting against it remains our national and legitimate right, and it will persist.”
The movement further emphasized that any shift away from resistance against the Zionist regime would only be possible once all the rights of the Palestinian people are restored and a fully sovereign Palestinian state is established, with Jerusalem as its capital.
Hamas issued the statement following a report published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, which quoted Wietkoff as saying that the movement was prepared to lay down its arms.