The Hamas terror group published an official statement on Sunday evening in which it rejected the terms for a hostage release-ceasefire deal that were discussed in Doha on Thursday and Friday, and blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for putting up new obstacles in the talks.
Netanyahu, for his part, reportedly told cabinet ministers earlier on Sunday that he was pessimistic about the chances for a deal, especially given that Israel had been effectively negotiating with mediating countries rather than with Hamas, which refused to send a delegation to the latest round of talks.
“The chances are not high,” the Kan public broadcaster quoted Netanyahu as telling ministers.
Netanyahu’s pessimism, coupled with Hamas’s rejection of the terms discussed in Doha, appeared to contradict reports from mediators that the negotiations were making progress, with a potential successful end in sight.
Netanyahu is to host visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday. Blinken is then set to fly to Cairo, where talks on a deal are ongoing.
The US has indicated that it aims to hold a second summit later this week and hopes to get deal finalized by the end of the week.
Among the main sticking points in the negotiations is Netanyahu’s demand that the IDF remain deployed in the Philadelphi Corridor, which runs along the Gaza-Egypt border, to prevent Hamas from smuggling weapons into Gaza and reconstituting its military. This demand was not specified in Israel’s May 27 hostage deal proposal which has served as the basis for the subsequent talks, and is rejected by Hamas.
Israel’s negotiators were reported to have told the prime minister on Sunday that without a compromise on the issue there would be no deal, and urged flexibility. The prime minister reportedly countered that so long as Hamas insisted on a full IDF withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor, there would indeed be no deal.
In its statement on Sunday evening, Hamas charged that Netanyahu “sets new conditions and demands” to thwart the talks and prolong the war in Gaza.
The terror group further claimed that the latest US-backed text — a “bridging proposal” that was conveyed to Israel and to Hamas at the end of the talks in Doha on Friday — was aligned with Israel’s demands. It cited stipulations that it said were contained in the proposal relating to the Philadelphi Corridor, the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, and the Netzarim Corridor which the IDF has established separating northern and southern Gaza. (A Hamas source was quoted in Saudi media earlier Sunday setting out some of these ostensible pro-Israel clauses.)
Hamas also claimed Netanyahu had introduced new demands relating to the release of Palestinian security prisoners.
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