Hamas’s peace conditions include a permanent ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza (file photo)
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh accused Israel on Wednesday of dragging its feet in stalled negotiations to secure a ceasefire in the Gaza war and a hostage release deal.
Recent talks have made little progress, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Palestinian Hamas group had hardened its position.
“The Zionist occupation continues to stubbornly delay and does not respond to our fair demands for an end to war and aggression,” Haniyeh said in a recorded speech played at the Hezbollah conference.
Netanyahu’s office said on Tuesday that an Israeli negotiating team had concluded another round of discussions in Cairo.
“Within the framework of the talks and with the effective mediation of Egypt, the mediators developed an updated proposal for Hamas,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.
However, senior Hamas official Bassem Naim said on Tuesday that the group had not received any new proposals.
“The movement has not received any proposals from the mediators or the occupier (Israel) regarding a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement,” he said.
On Wednesday, Qatar’s Haniyeh reiterated Hamas’s peace conditions in a speech ahead of comments by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
These include a permanent ceasefire, a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the return of displaced Gazans, unhindered access to aid, a comprehensive reconstruction of the war-torn territory and “a respectable prisoner exchange agreement.”
Haniyeh also denounced what he called the United States’ “direct involvement” in the war in Gaza, providing arms and ammunition to Israeli forces.
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