Hamas says new Israeli conditions delaying agreement on Gaza ceasefire

AFP , Wednesday 25 Dec 2024

Hamas accused Israel on Wednesday of imposing "new conditions" that it said were delaying a ceasefire agreement in the war in Gaza, though it acknowledged negotiations were still ongoing.

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Children inspect the site of Israeli bombardment on tents sheltering Palestinians displaced from Beit Lahia at a camp in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on December 25, 2024 amid the ongoing genocidal Israeli war in the Palestinian territory. AFP

 

Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, have taken place in Doha in recent days, rekindling hope for a truce deal that has proven elusive.

"The ceasefire and prisoner exchange negotiations are continuing in Doha under the mediation of Qatar and Egypt in a serious manner... but the occupation has set new conditions concerning the withdrawal of troops, the ceasefire, prisoners, and the return of displaced people, which has delayed reaching an agreement," the Palestinian resistance group said in a statement.

Hamas did not elaborate on the conditions imposed by Israel.

However, Israel refused Hamas's accusation that it was delaying a ceasefire deal in the Gaza claiming it was the Palestinian group that was creating "new obstacles" to an agreement, without providing details.

On Monday, Netanyahu told parliament that there was "some progress" in the talks, and on Tuesday his office said Israeli representatives had returned from Qatar after "significant negotiations".

Last week, Hamas and two other Palestinian groups -- Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine -- said in a rare joint statement that a ceasefire agreement was "closer than ever".

Efforts to strike a truce and captive-prisoner exchange deal have repeatedly failed over key stumbling blocks.

Despite numerous rounds of indirect talks, Israel and Hamas have agreed to just one truce, which lasted for a week at the end of 2023.

Negotiations have faced multiple challenges since then, with Israel imposing new conditions every time.

One of the primary point of disagreement was also the establishment of a lasting ceasefire in Gaza.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal last week, Netanyahu said: "I'm not going to agree to end the war before we remove Hamas."

He added Israel is "not going to leave them in power in Gaza, 30 miles from Tel Aviv. It's not going to happen."

Netanyahu has also repeatedly stated that he does not want to withdraw Israeli troops from the Philadelphi Corridor, a strip of land occupied by Israel along Gaza's border with Egypt.

 

* This story was edited by Ahram Online.

 

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