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A senior Hamas official has reportedly said that the group will not participate in the Gaza peace talks. Meanwhile, top Political Bureau member Osama Hamdan has said Israel is not engaging in good faith and that Hamas doesn’t believe Washington can or will apply pressure on Israel to seal a deal read more
 "Hamas says won't join talks, losing faith in US as mediator")
The Gaza peace talks for a ceasefire and hostage deal appear to hanging by a thread. Image used for representational purpose/Reuters
Pressure has been mounting on Israel and Hamas to end the 10-month-old war that has been raging in Gaza. To that end, peace talks mediated by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt are expected to resume on Thursday (August 15) in Doha.
However, it appears that these long-stalled negotiations are barely hanging on by a thread.
Most recently, BBC quoted an unnamed senior Hamas official as saying that the group will not take part in the indirect talks on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal.
The official stressed that Hamas wants a roadmap for implementing the agreement. He said the group would “not engage in negotiations for the sake of negotiations in order to provide cover for Israel to continue its war.”
The official reiterated that the implementation plan must be based on the proposed deal outlined by US President Joe Biden at the end of May. He also accused Israel of adding “new conditions”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied the allegations, saying instead that Hamas has been the one demanding changes.
Meanwhile, Osama Hamdan, a top Hamas official and member of its Political Bureau, told AP that the Palestinian group is losing faith in the United States’ ability to mediate a cease-fire in Gaza.
On Tuesday (August 13), Hamdan said that Israel is not engaging in good faith and that Hamas doesn’t believe Washington can or will apply pressure on Israel to seal a deal.
Hamas is particularly resistant to Israel’s demand to maintain a lasting military presence in two strategic areas of Gaza after any cease-fire, conditions that were only made public in the past few weeks.
“We have informed the mediators that … any meeting should be based on talking about implementation mechanisms and setting deadlines rather than negotiating something new,” said Hamdan. “Otherwise, Hamas finds no reason to participate.”
With inputs from AP
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