Hamas official says he will not participate in ceasefire negotiations

A senior Hamas official told the BBC the group would not take part in indirect negotiations on a Gaza ceasefire and a hostage release deal due to resume in Doha on Thursday.

The Palestinian armed group wants a road map for implementing the deal and “will not engage in negotiations for the sake of negotiations in order to provide cover for Israel to continue its war,” the official said.

He reiterated that the road map should be based on the deal proposed by US President Joe Biden at the end of May and accused Israel of adding “new conditions.”

The Israeli prime minister denied the actions and said it was Hamas that was demanding changes.

Negotiations are likely to take place even without Hamas, however, because American, Egyptian and Qatari mediators say they could use them to hammer out a plan that resolves the remaining issues.

They suffered several setbacks last month and have been suspended since Hamas’s political leader and chief negotiator, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated in Tehran.

The United States hopes that finalizing a deal could deter Iran from retaliating for the killing by Israel – which has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement – and avoid a regional conflict.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage.

More than 39,960 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.

Last week, the leaders of the United States, Egypt and Qatar issued a joint statement calling on Israel and Hamas to resume urgent talks on a deal that would bring relief to the people of Gaza as well as the 111 remaining hostages, 39 of whom are presumed dead.

A framework agreement is “now on the table, all that remains is to conclude the details of its implementation,” they said, adding that they were ready to present a transition proposal that would overcome their differences if necessary.

Israel responded that it would send a team of negotiators to participate in Thursday’s talks. But Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the United Kingdom and other countries, has refused to participate in the talks. asked the mediators to present a plan based on the state of the talks a month and a half ago instead of engaging in new rounds of negotiations.

On Wednesday, a senior Hamas official confirmed that its representatives would not attend the meeting, although many of them are based in the Qatari capital.

“We want a road map to implement what we have already agreed on the basis of President Biden’s ceasefire plan and the Security Council resolution, which guarantees Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, particularly from the Philadelphia Corridor (which runs along the border with Egypt), and allows the return of displaced people in northern Gaza without restrictions, and allows the delivery of humanitarian aid,” he told the BBC.

“It was Israel that added new conditions and reneged on its previous agreement,” he added.

The first phase of the agreement presented by Mr. Biden on May 31 and approved by the UN Security Council, would include a six-week “complete and total ceasefire”, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas of Gaza and the exchange of some hostages – including women, the elderly and the sick or wounded – for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

The second phase would involve the release of all remaining hostages and a “permanent cessation of hostilities.” The third would see the launch of a vast plan to rebuild Gaza and the return of the remains of the deceased hostages.

Tuesday, The New York Times reported that unpublished documents showed that Israel had forwarded a list of five new conditions in a July 27 letter.which adds to the principles set out on May 27 and presented by Mr. Biden a few days later.

He said the May proposal spoke of “withdrawing Israeli forces eastward, away from densely populated areas along the borders in all areas of the Gaza Strip,” but that the July letter included a map indicating that Israel would retain control of the Philadelphia corridor.

The report also said the letter added a stipulation that an agreed mechanism should be established to ensure that only unarmed civilians returning to northern Gaza are allowed to cross the Israeli-controlled Netzarim corridor, which effectively divides the territory in two.

In response to the report, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement saying the accusation that he added new conditions was “false.”describing them instead as “essential clarifications.”

“Prime Minister Netanyahu’s letter of July 27 does not introduce any additional conditions and certainly does not contradict or challenge the May 27 proposal. In fact, it was Hamas that demanded 29 changes to the May 27 proposal, which the prime minister refused to do,” he added, without providing details on Hamas’ demands.

Later Tuesday, President Biden conceded that negotiations were “getting tough,” but vowed he was “not giving up.”

He also said he believed a deal would help avoid the possibility of retaliation against Israel by Iran, Hamas’ main backer, for the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh.

When asked by a reporter whether Iran “could… stop all action if a ceasefire agreement were possible,” he replied: “That’s what I expect, but we’ll see.”

Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in the Hamas leader’s assassination, has warned Iran that it “will exact a high price for any aggression.” Iran has rejected Western calls for restraint and insisted that “a punitive response to an aggressor is a legal right.”

Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar, who was one of the masterminds of the October 7 attack, succeeded Haniyeh. Mr Netanyahu said on Monday that Sinwar “has been and remains the only obstacle to an agreement on the hostage-taking”.