The Palestinian militant group Hamas accused Israel on Wednesday of imposing “new conditions” that are delaying the conclusion of a cease-fire agreement and the release of hostages, although it admitted that negotiations were still ongoing. Israel rejected the charge, accusing Hamas of lying and creating “new obstacles” to the deal. . TASR informs on the basis of AFP reports.
Hamas on new conditions
“Ceasefire and prisoner exchange negotiations continue in the city of Doha, brokered by Qatar and Egypt … but the occupiers are constantly imposing new conditions of (troop) withdrawal, ceasefire, prisoner exchange and the return of displaced people, which are delaying the achievement of an agreement,” it said. the Palestinian militant movement Hamas in a statement.However, Hamas did not specify the conditions imposed by Israel.
“The terrorist organization Hamas lies once again, violates agreements already reached and continues to create new obstacles to negotiations,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office responded in a statement.
Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, which were mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, have been going on for several days in the Qatari capital of Doha. Thus, they revived the hope of reaching an agreement on a cease-fire and the release of prisoners, which has not been possible for a long time, writes AFP.
Hopeful statements
Netanyahu told the Israeli parliament on Monday that the talks had “advanced to some extent”. On Tuesday, his office said that Israeli representatives had returned from Qatar after “significant negotiations”.
Hamas, along with two other Palestinian militant groups, issued a statement last week saying that reaching a cease-fire agreement is “closer than ever,” but on the condition that Israel does not impose new conditions, AFP reports.
A truce was reached and part of the hostages were released at the end of 2023. It lasted about a week, and since then it has failed several times. The main reasons for the failure of the negotiations are the inability to agree on the terms of a permanent cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and the question of the government in the territory after the war, which also divides the Palestinian leadership, according to AFP.
Israel’s war against Hamas
Israel’s military is waging war against Hamas in retaliation for an October 7, 2023 incursion by Palestinian commandos into southern Israel in which the militants killed 1,200 people. Israel’s military operation has so far claimed the lives of more than 45,000 residents of the Gaza Strip, most of them also non-soldiers, according to the Ministry of Health of the territory controlled by Hamas, whose data the UN considers reliable.
