Hamden said Hamas does not see Israel engaging in good faith in the ceasefire negotiations and does not believe the Biden administration can pressure Israeli Prime MInister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet to ink a deal.
Hamas would only participate in Thursday's talks if negotiators were to discuss Israel’s peace deal that US President Joe Biden announced in May without any new additions, he said.
"We have informed the mediators that … any meeting should be based on talking about implementation mechanisms and setting deadlines rather than negotiating something new," the outlet quoted Hamden as saying. "Otherwise, Hamas finds no reason to participate."
On Tuesday, Hamas representative in Lebanon Ahmed Abdel Hadi told Sputnik that the Palestinian movement will not participate in the negotiations on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip scheduled for August 15.
Last week, Egypt, Qatar and the United States called on Israel and Hamas to resume talks on the terms of a ceasefire on August 14-15. The three countries' leaders said they were ready to present a final proposal to reach a deal.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed his planned trip to the region amid the uncertain situation in the region and Iranian plans to attack Israel.