The Palestinian movement Hamas has announced it “would not take part in new talks” with Israel on a ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip.
That is according to a statement by the resistance group’s Ahmad Abdul Hadi on Wednesday.
In addition to Hadi, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri also told Reuters on the same day, “Hamas is committed to the proposal presented to it on July 2, which is based on the UN Security Council resolution and the (US President Joe) Biden speech and the movement is prepared to immediately begin discussion over a mechanism to implement it.”
“Going to new negotiation allows the occupation to impose new conditions and employ the maze of negotiation to conduct more massacres.”
Hamas Political Bureau member Osama Hamdan also said in an interview with the Associated Press that the United States is no longer seen as a reliable negotiator capable of bringing about a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Hamden stated Hamas does not see Israel engaging in good faith in the ceasefire negotiations and does not believe the Biden administration can pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet to ink a deal.
Hamas would only participate in Thursday’s talks if negotiators were to discuss Israel’s peace deal that Biden announced in May without any new additions, he added.
“We have informed the mediators that … any meeting should be based on talking about implementation mechanisms and setting deadlines rather than negotiating something new,” the outlet quoted Hamden as saying.
“Otherwise, Hamas finds no reason to participate.”
The English-language daily newspaper Arab News reported on Wednesday that unpublished documents show Israel demanded new ceasefire conditions in late July of US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators.
Netanyahu privately added new conditions to the Tel Aviv regime’s proposed ceasefire talks with Hamas, according to the report.
Netanyahu repeatedly blamed Hamas officials for the stalled negotiation process, despite criticism leveled at him from Israeli officials, it added.
The Israeli onslaught has since killed nearly 40,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 92,000 others, according to local health authorities.
More than 10 months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice for its actions in the coastal enclave.
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