Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal said Saturday that the Islamist group's request for a ceasefire with Israel was "a tactic in conducting the struggle."

In an interview with Al-Jazeera, Mashaal explained that "it is normal for any resistance...to sometimes escalate, other times retreat a bit." Hamas has implemented ceasefires in the past and has later resumed attacks, he pointed out, citing 2003 as a specific example.

According to Israel Radio, Mashaal said that he views Israel's pursuit of a cease-fire as proof that Hamas has succeeded in warding off IDF operations in Gaza.

Hamas has been negotiating with Egyptian officials for a six-month ceasefire period during which Hamas would halt its terrorist attacks and Israel would stop all counterterrorism operations. Nothing would prevent Hamas from continuing to import and manufacture weapons and train terrorists.

Hamas has also offered the promise of a 10-year pause in their attacks, if Israel would agree to relinquish all of Judea, Samaria, and eastern Jerusalem, including the Old City, and to grant citizenship to millions of foreign Arabs. If Israel were to meet those conditions, Hamas leaders say, they would agree to a 10-year ceasefire, after which they would resume their efforts to destroy the Jewish state...