Palestinian territories:
The Palestinian group Hamas said early on Friday that its delegation attending ceasefire negotiations in Gaza had left the city for Qatar, adding that the “ball is now completely” in Israel's hands.
“The negotiating delegation left Cairo en route to Doha. In practice, the occupation (Israel) rejected the mediators' proposal and raised objections to it on several central issues,” the group said in a message to other Palestinian factions, adding that it remained firm. by the proposal.
“Accordingly, the ball is now completely in the hands of the occupation.”
State-linked Egyptian news channel Al-Qahera News reported on Thursday that representatives of both camps left Cairo after two days of negotiations aimed at finalizing a ceasefire in the seven-month war in the Gaza Strip.
Efforts by Egypt and other mediators, especially Qatar and the United States, “continue to bring the two sides' positions closer together,” the newspaper said, citing a high-level Egyptian source.
Hamas said on Monday it had accepted a ceasefire proposal from mediators.
The agreement, according to the group, included a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, the return of Palestinians displaced by the war, and the exchange of hostages held by militants for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, with the aim of “a permanent ceasefire”.
Netanyahu's office at the time called the proposal “far from Israel's essential demands” but said the government would still send negotiators to Cairo.
Israel has long opposed the idea of a permanent ceasefire, insisting it must complete the task of dismantling Hamas.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Our staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)