Hamas’s lead negotiator on Thursday urged the United States to press Israel for a truce in Gaza, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of blocking a ceasefire in the Palestinian territory.
“If the US administration and its President (Joe) Biden really want to reach a ceasefire and complete a prisoner exchange deal, they must abandon their blind bias towards the Zionist occupation and exert real pressure on Netanyahu and his government,” Qatar-based Khalil al-Hayya said in a video statement.
Months of back-and-forth talks mediated by Washington, Doha and Cairo have thus far failed to bring an end to the conflict in Gaza and secure a hostage and prisoner exchange.
Hamas and Israel have traded blame for the stalled talks, as pressure for a deal intensified after Israeli authorities announced on Sunday the deaths of six hostages whose bodies were recovered from a Gaza tunnel.
Netanyahu said the militant group had “rejected everything” in the indirect talks, saying on Wednesday Israel was “trying to find some area to begin the negotiations”.
“They (Hamas) refuse to do that… (They said) there’s nothing to talk about,” he added.
Netanyahu’s insistence on keeping control of the so-called Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border has emerged as a recent sticking point.
Hayya on Thursday accused the Israeli premier of seeking to “evade the obligation to reach a ceasefire agreement”.
With AFP
