Hamas: Netanyahu is procrastinating and evading reaching an agreement by setting new conditions

The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) said that the conditions added by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the American proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip represent a retreat from what the mediators conveyed.

The movement explained - in a statement on Monday, commenting on the Rome discussions to reach an agreement - that Netanyahu’s conditions retracted what the mediators conveyed as an Israeli card that was part of US President Joe Biden’s project and the UN Security Council resolution.

The movement added, "Netanyahu has once again returned to the strategy of procrastination, procrastination, and evading reaching an agreement by setting new conditions and demands."

The Rome talks concluded yesterday with the participation of CIA Director William Burns, Mossad Director David Barnea, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, and Egyptian Intelligence Chief Abbas Kamel, to discuss a prisoner exchange deal and a ceasefire agreement.

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority quoted a knowledgeable official as saying that the meeting in the Italian capital was held for the sake of meeting only, denying that there had been any breakthrough in the negotiations.

The New York Times also quoted Israeli officials as saying that Netanyahu is the main reason behind Israel's hardline stance in the Rome talks. She added that senior security officials are pressuring Netanyahu to show flexibility to conclude a deal.

In this context, White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby expressed his belief that a ceasefire agreement would soon be reached, indicating that the matter would require some concessions.

"We still believe that the gaps can be narrowed on the Gaza ceasefire," Kirby added.

New terms

On Sunday, Netanyahu announced in a statement that Barnea had handed over the Israeli paper to the mediators, without revealing the new conditions included in the response, but Israeli Channel 12 said that the new Israeli clarification document includes 3 points that Netanyahu recently added.

The newspaper added that the points are to find a mechanism to examine fighters who move from the south of the Gaza Strip to its north, the issue of the Israeli army forces remaining along the Philadelphia axis (Gaza and Egypt borders), and receiving a list of living detainees who will be released in advance.

Israeli media reported that hundreds of Israelis demonstrated in front of the Ministry of Defense coinciding with the mini-ministerial council session to demand a deal.

Activists from protest movements and families of prisoners sprayed the entrances to government headquarters in Jerusalem with yellow paint to demand the conclusion of a prisoner exchange deal and setting a date for early Israeli elections.

Activists also protested against Knesset representatives going on vacation at the end of their summer session without concluding an exchange deal. The protesters accused the government of sabotaging the exchange deal, while more prisoners were dying in the Gaza Strip.

Tel Aviv holds at least 9,500 Palestinians in its prisons, and estimates the presence of 115 Israeli prisoners in Gaza, while Hamas announced the killing of more than 70 prisoners in random raids launched by Israel.

At the end of last May, US President Joe Biden put forward a proposal for an agreement presented to him by Israel, which includes a ceasefire, a prisoner exchange, and the reconstruction of Gaza.

With American support, since October 7, Israel has been waging a war on Gaza that has resulted in more than 130,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing people, amid massive destruction and deadly famine.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies