Israel's Litany of New Conditions 'Ruined' Hamas Ceasefire Deal

Fresh conditions constantly drummed up by Israel is the primary reason why a viable ceasefire and hostage swap deal with Hamas is still nowhere in sight, Dr. Ali Mamouri, a research fellow at Deakin University, told Sputnik.

“Israel is the main reason for the delay as it adds new conditions constantly… Hamas' spokesman also said early this week that Hamas had agreed to Biden's recent proposal, but Netanyahu added new conditions, ruining the deal. The only party that can push the deal forward is the US by putting enough pressure on Israel to finalize the deal, but it seems the Biden administration is not willing or does not have enough power to do so,” the analyst said.

Negotiations between the Israeli government and Hamas on a ceasefire deal for Gaza are in limbo yet again, despite the White House bragging about "significant progress" having been made during talks in Doha, and one senior US administration official even claiming on Friday that the talks had reached an “endgame.” Now, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit Qatar after a stopover in Egypt in an effort to push forward the ceasefire proposal. Egypt and Qatar "are our two critical partners in this effort to get the ceasefire agreement over the finish line, to get the hostages home, to put everyone on a better path to lasting peace and security," Blinken told reporters in Tel Aviv on Monday.

After being presented with the updated US proposal for a deal on Friday, Hamas blamed Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu for "still putting obstacles in the way of reaching an agreement," and "setting new conditions and demands with the aim of undermining the mediators' efforts and prolonging the war."

"The new proposal meets Netanyahu's conditions and aligns with them, particularly his refusal of a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and his insistence on continuing the occupation of the Netzarim Junction (which separates the north and south of the Gaza Strip), the Rafah crossing, and the Philadelphi Corridor [a strip of territory separating Egypt from Gaza, ed.]," read the statement by Hamas on Sunday.

Hamas gave the ceasefire negotiations that were slated to take place in Qatar this week a miss. A fresh round of talks is expected to take place in Egypt on August 21.

As far as Netanyahu is concerned, “all he cares about is his political career, his future and concerns about possible prosecution due to corruption allegations and failure in security management in the October 7, 2023, security breach, not to mention the ongoing International Criminal Court genocide case against him,” noted Dr. Mamouri, who previously served as strategic communication advisor to the Iraqi prime minister from 2020 to 2022.

“That is why he is trying to make the war longer and involve other regional parties and bring the US into the conflict, as well to protect himself. It is clear that the release of the hostages via a ceasefire does not benefit him,” he added.

World

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All the optimistic hype in the media around the Doha talks was a “miscalculation and misreading” of the actual developments.

The replacement of assassinated ceasefire negotiations point man and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh with the more “hardline” Yahya Sinwar was also a telltale sign, according to the pundit, that “no deal will occur soon.”

The only way to turn the current state of the negotiations around is for the international community “to put serious pressure on Israel” and “push it toward a comprehensive solution for this long-term conflict,” the expert stressed.

“At the same time, international and regional powers need to help Palestinians to get united and enter serious negotiations to end the conflict forever. China brokering an agreement between Palestinian factions was a positive move which should be encouraged and developed further. Involving regional forces such as Saudi Arabia and Turkiye will also help to move a real deal forward,” Dr. Mamouri added.

Analysis

‘Lack of Trust’, Israeli ‘Unwillingness to Compromise’ Puts Gaza Talks in Hard to Break Stalemate

19 August, 18:53 GMT

Israel's Litany of New Conditions 'Ruined' Hamas Ceasefire Deal - Analyst