Hamas rejects ‘new conditions’ set by Israel in proposed Doha Agreement

A child walks next to partially collapsed buildings as Palestinians in the region migrate to safer areas with their belongings after the Israeli army issues an evacuation warning to Palestinians in the Hamad area of Khan Yunis, Gaza on August 12, 2024. [Ashraf Amra – Anadolu Agency]

Hamas has rejected the “new conditions” that it said Israel imposed in the proposed agreement in Doha during the two days of ceasefire negotiations, two Hamas officials informed AFP on Friday.

A leading source shared that the Israeli delegation: “Set new conditions in the context of its hindrances, such as its insistence on keeping military forces in the border strip area with Egypt, the Philadelphi Corridor and requested the right to veto the names of prisoners and deport other prisoners outside Palestine.”

The source stressed that Hamas: “Will not accept anything less than a complete ceasefire, the complete withdrawal from the Strip, a normal return of the displaced and an exchange deal without restrictions and conditions set by the occupation.”

A new round of negotiations began in the Qatari capital on Thursday in an attempt to reach a truce that would allow for an exchange of hostages held in the Gaza Strip and Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons.

READ: Netanyahu’s 4 conditions threaten Qatari talks

The negotiations are based on a proposal announced by US President Joe Biden on 31 May, which stipulates three stages, including a ceasefire, a withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas in Gaza, the entry of aid and the release of Palestinian detainees from Israeli prisons.

The negotiations are being attended by the director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns, as well as the heads of the Israeli foreign intelligence services, Mossad, and the interior intelligence, Shin Bet.

On Thursday night, Hamas stressed that any ceasefire agreement in Gaza must include a “full withdrawal” of Israeli forces from the Strip.

Hussam Badran, a member of the Hamas political bureau, announced in statements following the resumption of negotiations in Doha that: “Any agreement must reach a comprehensive ceasefire, a full withdrawal from Gaza and the return of the displaced.”

READ: Senior diplomat resigns over UK’s complicity in ‘war crimes’ in Gaza

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