DOHA: Hamas has said it rejected “new conditions” in a Gaza truce proposal that US-led mediators presented during two days of talks in Doha.
According to AFP, diplomatic efforts have so far failed to ease the suffering endured over more than 10 months of conflict, but US President Joe Biden insisted following the recent round of dialogue that “we are closer than we have ever been.”
Biden is sending US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Israel to push the latest suggestion, the State Department stated. Qatari, Egyptian, and US mediators have been seeking to finalize details of a framework earlier outlined by President Biden in May, which he said Israel had suggested.
In a joint statement, the mediators stated that they had presented both parties with a suggestion that “bridges remaining gaps” and will continue working in the upcoming days to hash out the specifics on humanitarian provisions and the prisoners- hostage swap. Dialogs aiming to secure a rapid agreement are set to resume in Cairo, Egypt “before the end of next week.”
Hamas did not attend the Doha talks, quickly announced its disapproval to what it called “new conditions” from Israel in the latest proposal. Threats by Iran to attack Israel have added renewed urgency to the efforts to hammer out a Gaza truce, with mediators seeking an agreement in the hopes of dousing a wider regional war. Talking to reports, President Joe Biden said that no one in the region should take actions to undermine this process.
AFP reported that Hamas had objected to conditions regarding keeping Israeli forces on Gaza’s border with Egypt and terms linked to the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli captives.
Jordan, however, put the blame on Netanyahu for blocking an agreement, with Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi urging pressure by everyone who wants to see this through to completion.
An American official warned Friday that Tehran would face “cataclysmic” consequences and derail momentum toward a Gaza ceasefire if it attacks Israel in response to the assassination of a top Hamas leader. A senior US official told the media on the condition of anonymity that Washington would encourage Iranians not to move down that road, because the consequences could be quite cataclysmic, especially for Iran.
