Hamas gunmen. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas has rejected a proposal for a five-year truce with Israel that would have included the lifting of the blockade on the Gaza Strip, according to senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouk.

Marzouk said that the proposal—put forth by Israeli, Palestinian, and international parties—also included clauses about the establishment of an airport and a seaport in Hamas-ruled Gaza, Haaretz reported.

“We’re paying a steep price for our stance by the continued blockade and economic pressure over the Strip, but we reject any idea that would lead to the separation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, despite the fact that Palestinian President Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) and his government are actively doing so with their policies,” Marzouk said in a Facebook post.

Robert Serry, the outgoing United Nations special coordinator for Middle East peace, had apparently proposed a three-to-five year truce with Israel to Hamas officials in order to aid the reconstruction of Gaza following last summer’s war there. A different report, by Walla News, indicated that Hamas sent a series of messages to Israel through U.N. and Western diplomats that it was willing to strike a five-year truce.

Several such truces—known as “hudna” in Arabic—have been offered by Hamas in the past.