Click to see the full-size image
On August 18, after days of negotiations, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance “Hamas” released a sharp statement, rejecting the terms of the ceasefire negotiations in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
After the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Iran’s promise to respond to this assassination, all mediating parties, including the United States, have attempted to end tensions by implementing a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as soon as possible to reduce and prevent the possibility of an all-out war. According to CNN, Washington has asked Tehran, through mediators, not to attack Israel, as there is a path to a Gaza deal.
This issue is of great importance for America, especially for President Biden, who is on the eve of the election. According to Axios, citing informed officials, President Joe Biden plans to finalize the Gaza ceasefire and the prisoner release agreement by the end of next week. However, there is still no clear prospect for peace.
The talks have been ongoing for days, but there is no sign of progress. Today, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv to meet with Israeli officials. Some believe he went to Tel Aviv to put pressure on Netanyahu and soften him in the ceasefire talks.
In his final statement, Blinken emphasized the urgency of reaching an agreement on Gaza and returning the Israeli prisoners. He stated that this may be the last chance to secure their return, and stressed that it is a critical moment for the ceasefire negotiations in Gaza.
Although there was no detailed information about the contents of the negotiations until yesterday, the different angles of the story are gradually becoming clear.
Based on the leaked information, these are some of the details proposed in the Doha ceasefire talks meeting:
- The Israeli army will reduce its military presence in the Philadelphia axis (south of Rafah city and the Egyptian border), but will not withdraw from it;
- The Palestinian National Authority must take over the management of the Rafah crossing under the supervision of Israel;
- The Israeli army will fully monitor and control the refugees who return to the north of the Gaza Strip through the Netzarim Corridor;
- A large number of Palestinian prisoners will be deported from the country after their release from prison;
- Israel’s veto right to refuse the release of at least 100 security prisoners.
According to the leaked information, it is evident that the Israeli government not only failed to abide by the terms of the previous agreement but also introduced new conditions, making it harder to reach a lasting ceasefire. Under the new terms, Israel intends to maintain control over the Netzarim corridor and other areas in the Gaza Strip, showing no willingness to withdraw from Gaza and offering no significant concessions to the other party.
On the other hand, the Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, finally reacted to the non-constructive process of negotiations in Doha by issuing a statement on August 18 and rejecting the negotiations. Hamas believes that Netanyahu and his government are the main obstacles to a ceasefire agreement.
The Hamas statement reads:
“We cooperated with all mediators to reach an agreement to stop the aggression against our people and conclude a prisoner exchange agreement. But after listening to the talks of the mediators in the negotiations, it became clear to us that Netanyahu continues to create obstacles to reach an agreement.
The new proposals benefit Netanyahu and benefit them, especially by rejecting a permanent ceasefire and a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu set new conditions in the prisoner exchange case and withdrew from other clauses to prevent the completion of the exchange agreement.
We hold Netanyahu fully responsible for thwarting the mediators’ efforts and derailing the agreement and the lives of his prisoners, who are in the same danger as our people.
We reaffirm our commitment to what we agreed on on July 2nd and call on the mediators to be accountable and hold the adversary to implement what was agreed upon. The main demand of the Hamas movement and other Palestinian groups is the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip. But the Israeli side refuses to accept this request.”
The senior government officials of Egypt, the United States and Qatar will meet again, this time in the Egyptian capital Cairo before the end of this week to reach an agreement according to the terms proposed on Friday. Due to the failure of the Doha negotiations, the fate of the discussions in Cairo is likely doomed.
It was predictable that the ceasefire talks in Doha would fail. Due to Netanyahu’s challenging political and legal position inside and outside Israel, it’s unlikely that he will accept peace talks. Netanyahu’s political survival is closely linked to achieving a decisive victory in the Gaza Strip. The ongoing war on the northern front, the grave security situation in the West Bank, and the unstable political situation in the government in Tel Aviv have all significantly damaged Israel’s reputation. Tel Aviv is attempting to restore its lost status through any means.
Mediation efforts of the United States, Egypt and Qatar to establish a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of 110 Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip began a few months ago. After several rounds of indirect negotiations in Egypt and Qatar, the parties to the conflict have not yet reached an agreement. These negotiations have not yielded results due to Netanyahu’s refusal to stop the war and genocide in Gaza.
The war in Gaza has left more than 40,000 martyrs and more than 92,600 wounded. The humanitarian situation is dire and is getting worse due to the restrictions imposed by the Israeli regime on the entry of food and medicine into the Gaza Strip.
On the other hand, the Israeli regime has been on full alert since July 31, following Haniyeh’s assassination, and is waiting for Iran’s response. Some observers believe that the results of these negotiations are important in Iran and Hezbollah’s decision to seek revenge for Haniyeh’s assassination. Iran has also emphasized that the ceasefire in Gaza is a priority. However, if the ceasefire talks fail completely, the likelihood of Iran’s retaliatory attack will increase, and the region will enter another cycle of war and conflict.
MORE ON THE TOPIC:
