Washington's pressure remains insufficient to stop the fighting in Gaza while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu keeps coming up with new conditions on already difficult peace talks, a Hamas official said.
According to a spokesperson of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, a Hamas official personally involved in the cease-fire negotiations conveyed that "due to security concerns in the region and the upcoming presidential elections, the U.S. might be sincere in its efforts to reach a cease-fire agreement. However, the Americans are not putting any pressure on Israel.”
The latest round of negotiations in Egypt for a cease-fire in the Gaza war are again at an impasse with a difficult stalemate in the talks. As Hamas and Israel are not negotiating directly with each other, the U.S., Qatar and Egypt are acting as mediators with Türkiye diplomatically supporting the process.
The Hamas official highlighted that the U.S. does not share the actual situation of the peace talks with the media. “It keeps giving optimistic messages, but the situation is not positive at all.”
Netanyahu keeps coming up with new conditions, the official said, adding that the premier refuses to leave the Philadelphia corridor, a demilitarized area on the border between Gaza and Egypt, and has put new conditions on the Rafah border crossing.
“Every time, a new page is turned, we go back to the beginning every time, and then a new process begins. Israel constantly raises the bar. This process is not a negotiation but an imposition,” the Hamas official added. “With this approach, we are losing hope for a cease-fire.”
The peace talks continue on three main points, namely the Philadelphia corridor, the Rafah border crossing and the prisoner/hostage exchange.
The Hamas official pointed out that the U.S. will continue the current talks for two more weeks and then end them if there is no resolution. “This call is extremely dangerous because it means we will be back at square one.”
“We said we would negotiate within the framework of July 2. Israel, however, is going backward from the May 24/25 document and Biden's plan approved by the U.N. General Security Council. We cannot accept this,” he added.
He also reiterated the severe situation in the Gaza Strip, saying that the Gazan people are in a very difficult situation not being able to find food and medicine. “There is only flour, dry food and no fresh produce, meat or other fresh food supplies."
More than 40,400 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The crowded enclave has been laid to waste and most of its 2.3 million people have been displaced multiple times and face acute shortages of food and medicine, humanitarian agencies say.
