The head of the political bureau of the radical Islamic Hamas, Ismail Haniyahas the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused of sabotaging mediation efforts in ongoing talks on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages. Netanyahu wants to “invent constant justifications for the continuation of the aggression,” Haniyya said on Sunday from his residence in Doha. Israel’s head of government wants to “expand the cycle of conflict and sabotage the efforts of various mediators and parties.” Haniyya added that Hamas “remains committed to reaching a comprehensive and cohesive agreement that ends the aggression, ensures disengagement and achieves a serious prisoner exchange.”
Israel had previously accused Hamas of blocking the negotiations that had been ongoing for months. A senior Israeli government official described Hamas’s demand for a permanent ceasefire on Saturday as an obstacle in negotiations over a cease-fire and further hostage releases. Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel “cannot accept” Hamas’s demand for an end to the war. On Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described Hamas as the only obstacle to a ceasefire. A delegation from the Palestinian Organization arrived in Cairo on Saturday for a new round of negotiations.
Israel says it will only send a negotiating team to the Egyptian capital once there is movement in the indirect talks. The intermediaries USA, Egypt and Qatar have been waiting for days for a response from Hamas to the most recent proposal to stop fighting in the Gaza Strip for the time being and to exchange Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. A Hamas official said Saturday’s round of talks had made “no progress.” On Sunday, Hamas resumed talks with the Qatari and Egyptian mediators. Haniyya is considered the highest-ranking official in the Islamist Hamas. He heads their Politburo from the Gulf Emirate of Qatar, where he lives. It applies alongside Yahya Sinwarthe political Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, and the military Hamas leader Mohammed Deif as one of the masterminds of the unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 that triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.