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Hamas rejected the latest 60-day Gaza cease-fire proposal with Israel Saturday, stalling talks in Qatar while the terror group continues to push to maintain a larger swath of the Gaza Strip.
Talks in Doha this week have centered on a US-backed Qatari proposal that would bring a temporary halt to the nearly three years of bloodshed and a release of some of the remaining hostages. But the hangup has been the terror group’s demands over the extent of Israeli forces’ withdrawal from the enclave, sources said.
Israel has already accepted the proposal, according to the Times of Israel.
“Hamas rejected the Qatari proposal, is creating obstacles, refuses to compromise and accompanies the talks with psychological warfare aimed at sabotaging the negotiations,” a senior official in Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office told reporters, according to the Jerusalem Post.
“Hamas remains steadfast in its refusal, holding positions that do not allow the mediators to advance an agreement.”
The stalled two-month truce calls for both sides to stop firing at each other to allow for roughly half the hostages to be released, and humanitarian aid to be brought in — while Israeli forces withdraw to a buffer zone in Gaza and negotiations for a permanent cease-fire take place.
Earlier Saturday, a senior Palestinian official told the BBC the cease-fire negotiations were on the verge of collapse.
In the latest offer, first presented Wednesday, Tel Aviv agreed to ease some of Hamas’ demands regarding the redeployment of its troops, following pressure from Washington.
But maps detailing the partial withdrawal of IDF troops from occupying Gaza was not enough to satisfy the terror group, sources said, adding, however, that the indirect talks are still expected to continue through the weekend.
The rejected maps had Tel Aviv keeping control of roughly one-third of territory in Gaza, including a 1.86-mile buffer zone in Rafah to create a “humanitarian city” for the population, where Gazans would be checked for weapons and be barred from leaving as Israel would encourage their emigration outside of the Strip, Times of Israel reported.
Hamas maintains that it wants to see no military presence in Gaza. The terror group had initially agreed to a buffer zone of less than 1 mile as a starting point for negotiations with Tel Aviv, but balked over expanded IDF control.
The current deal would also include the release of 10 Israeli hostages — half of the 20 believed to still be alive. Hamas would also return the bodies of 18 of the 30 hostages who have died in captivity. In exchange, Israel would also release an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners.
Israel is expected to present new IDF withdrawal maps on Monday, Israeli TV reported, specifically focusing on redeployment along the Morag Corridor and perimeter around Gaza.
Meanwhile, calls to bring the war to a close reverberated in rallies across several Israel cities Saturday, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. A new poll aired on Israeli TV found that 74% of Irespondents back an agreement with Hamas that would release all of the remaining hostages in exchange for ending the war.
Just 8%, however, supported the Qatari deal that’s currently on the table, which only sees half the Israeli hostages released.
Since last Sunday, Israeli and Hamas delegations have attended eight rounds of talks — the parties operate out of separate buildings — while stationed in Doha, according to the BBC.
“Missing the current momentum would be a serious failure,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Tel Aviv said in a statement expressing concern over the fragile state of negotiations.
“Every day the war continues is an achievement for Hamas and a serious risk for our hostages and soldiers.”
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