The meeting in Cairo to reach a truce between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip concluded on Sunday (05/05/2024) without concrete progress, due to the inflexible positions of both sides after seven months of war.
A senior Hamas official told the agency AFP that his delegation left for Qatar after disagreements intensified over the terms of an agreement, which in addition to a truce includes the release of hostages. However, the group will return to the Egyptian capital on May 7 “to conclude the indirect negotiations” with Israel, the Egyptian media reported. Al Qahera Newsclose to the intelligence services, citing a “well-informed source.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that accepting Hamas’ “demands” to end the war in Gaza would be “a terrible defeat for the State of Israel” and would be tantamount to “capitulation.” In response, Hamas head Ismail Haniyeh accused Netanyahu of “sabotaging the efforts of mediators” to obtain a truce in the territory, devastated after almost seven months of conflict.
The latest truce proposal that mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States presented at the end of April to Hamas – a group considered by the European Union as a terrorist group – provides for a cessation of fighting for 40 days and an exchange of Israeli hostages in Gaza since on October 7, 2023 in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
A Hamas leader insisted Sunday that his movement would not accept “under any circumstances” an agreement that does not explicitly include an end to the war. Netanyahu reiterated in a cabinet meeting that “Israel cannot accept” Hamas’s “extreme positions.”
Israel was not present at the Cairo negotiations. However, CIA chief William Burns did participate, according to US media. A source close to the talks said Burns is heading to Qatar for an “urgent meeting” with Prime Minister Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al Thani “in the absence of progress.”
ama (afp, efe, ap, dpa, reuters)
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