A Hamas official said on Sunday that the group’s delegation to the Gaza truce talks in Cairo was leaving for Qatar after disagreements with Israel over demands to end the war persisted.
A meeting in Cairo on a proposed truce linked to the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip ended on Sunday without any concrete progress, while Israel and Hamas remain adamant after seven months of war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed that Israel would “not capitulate” to Hamas and could not “accept” the demands of the Islamist movement, which is calling for a permanent ceasefire in the Palestinian territory as a precondition for any agreement, notably on the release of hostages kidnapped in Israel on October 7.
Benjamin Netanyahu, for his part, is still threatening to launch an offensive on the overcrowded town of Rafah, on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, based in Qatar, had earlier accused Netanyahu of “sabotaging the efforts of mediators” to reach a truce, while talks begun the previous day continued in Cairo between a delegation from the movement and Qatari and Egyptian representatives.
A Hamas official announced at the end of the day that the meeting had ended and that the delegation would be leaving for Doha to consult its political leadership. It is then due to return to Cairo on Tuesday for further talks.
Terrible Defeat
The offer presented to Hamas at the end of April by the mediating countries, Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, provided for a truce combined with the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
A Hamas official stated earlier on Sunday that the movement would “under no circumstances accept an agreement that does not explicitly provide for an end to the war.”
“When Israel shows its goodwill, Hamas persists in its extreme positions, foremost among which is its demand for the withdrawal of our forces from the Gaza Strip, the end of the war, and the preservation of Hamas. Israel cannot accept this,” Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting.
“Capitulating” to Hamas’s demands would be a “terrible defeat” for Israel, he said.
CIA Chief in Qatar
CIA Director William Burns was in Cairo on Sunday, according to US media, while Israel was not present at the talks. He is now expected in Doha to meet the Prime Minister of Qatar to “urgently” discuss mediation in the war between Israel and Hamas, a source familiar with the discussions told AFP on Sunday.
The source, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, said that Burns was en route to the Qatari capital on Sunday evening for talks with Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, whose country has been involved in efforts to bring about a truce in Gaza and the release of hostages.
“With the latest talks between Egypt and Israel failing in Cairo, CIA Director Burns is traveling to Doha for an emergency meeting with Qatar’s prime minister to explore possibilities for getting the talks back on track,” the source said.
Il devrait ensuite arriver en Israël lundi pour accroître la pression américaine, principalement sur le Premier ministre Benjamin Netanyahu, according to US news outlet Axios.
Qatar, along with the United States and Egypt, has been involved in behind-the-scenes negotiations for months in a bid to bring about a cessation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip.
The latest round of negotiations between mediators and the Palestinian militant group ended in Cairo on Sunday, while Israel and Hamas publicly blamed each other for their inability to reach an agreement.
Qatar, which has hosted Hamas’ political leadership since 2012 with Washington’s blessing, is also home to the largest US military base in the region.
With AFP
