On the Daily Show, a popular US political satire news program, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the Hamas leaders now feel “trapped” on the negotiating table after the ouster of their ally, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
She said that when she negotiated a Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire along with deposed President Mohamed Morsy, he was able to successfully use his influence to persuade Hamas to abide by it.
“[But] he's gone,” she said. “And the new regime in Cairo sees [Hamas] as a danger to them because they see them as a source of instability and violence that can affect them in Sinai and beyond.”
Clinton argued that Hamas is also trapped by leadership that has no interest in improving the lives of Palestinians as the group thrives on portraying itself as a violent resistance. She said that different from the Palestinian Authority, Hamas does not have a mentality cooperation and is more worried about obtaining missles to fire at Israel than it is about improving the everyday lives of Gazans.
Though Israel accepted the proposed ceasefire by Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's government, Hamas refused it, saying they had not been consulted.
Stewart's extended interview with Clinton can be seen here.
