Why Hamas Cannot Keep Saying No

The war in Gaza has dragged on for two years. Two years of rubble, funerals, empty hospitals, and children growing up without schools. Now, after all that, a 20-point peace plan is on the table. It comes from Washington, backed by Arab capitals, and for once, even Israel says yes. The only question left is Hamas.

Pressure From Every Side

Hamas is cornered. Not just militarily, but politically, socially, morally.
Analyst Muhammad Shahada put it bluntly: the group no longer has the “luxury” of saying no. That line sticks because it cuts to the heart of the matter—this isn’t about face-saving anymore. It’s about survival, and not just theirs.

Inside Gaza, the voices are raw: “This deal is insulting, it’s colonial, it’s insane. But take it. Because the genocide must stop.” People are desperate for something that looks like life again—a home without drones overhead, bread without ration cards, a little dignity.

What’s on Offer

The plan itself reads almost utopian, maybe even cynical. Yet it’s concrete:

A stop to the war and phased Israeli withdrawal.

Hostages freed, prisoners exchanged.

Aid trucks rolling again instead of being bombed on the road.

An economic blueprint that dares to dream of Gaza as the “Riviera of the Middle East.”