Israel has announced that it has recalled its negotiating delegation from Qatar over Hamas’s “excessive demands”, including a complete end to the war in Gaza and a full withdrawal of the Israeli army from the territory.
In a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Press Office, referring to the draft resolution approved yesterday by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during Ramadan that would lead to a permanent and sustainable truce, the Prime Minister’s Office said that Hamas’ behaviour was “clear evidence of its lack of interest in continuing negotiations and a sad demonstration of the damage caused by the UNSC resolution”.
The statement pointed to the recall of the Israeli delegation over Hamas’s “excessive demands”, including a complete end to the war and a full withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza, and said that “Israel will not give in to Hamas’s fictitious demands”.
Hamas had announced its demands
“We recently informed our brothers in mediation that the movement (Hamas) adheres to the stance and vision it presented on 14 March,” the Hamas Telegram account said in a statement.
The statement noted that Israel’s response did not meet any of the basic demands of the Palestinian people and resistance, which were “a comprehensive ceasefire, withdrawal from Gaza, the return of the displaced and a genuine prisoner exchange”.
“Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his extremist government are fully responsible for the failure of all previous negotiating efforts and for preventing an agreement from being reached,” the Hamas statement said.
In recent days, rounds of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Qatar and Egypt with the participation of the United States, have been held in Doha in an attempt to reach a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.
An Israeli delegation led by Mossad chief David Barnea travelled to Doha, the capital of Qatar, on 18 March for a new round of negotiations on the release of prisoners in Gaza.
The Israeli press announced that the prisoner exchange negotiations between Hamas and Tel Aviv had officially begun with the arrival in Doha of the Israeli delegation led by the head of the Mossad. The delegation was said to include Nitzan Alon, the head of the Israeli army’s file on abducted and missing persons.
The news on Israel’s Channel 12 television said that the negotiations could take about two weeks.
