The Hamas source told Al Jazeera that Netanyahu is only “trying to buy time, absorb the anger of the captives’ families, and show a false interest in continuing the negotiations.”
Israel is still rejecting Hamas’ demands for a ceasefire in Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli troops, and the return of displaced Palestinians in the negotiations, a senior official from the group told Al Jazeera on Wednesday.
“After the last round of talks in Cairo, the occupation is still stubborn and has not agreed to the demands of our people and our resistance,” the anonymous Hamas source told the broadcaster.
The source was referring to the latest round of talks in Egypt, which has been playing a key mediating role with Qatar, the host of a Hamas political bureau.
Israel’s negotiating team returned from the Egyptian capital on Tuesday and put together “an updated proposal for Hamas,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said.
The Hamas source told Al Jazeera that Netanyahu is still placing obstacles to an agreement and is “not interested” in releasing the remaining Israeli captives. There are at least 130 captives believed to be in Gaza, including 34 whom the Israeli army says are dead.
Another source told Al Jazeera that the Israeli delegation’s response in Cairo brought nothing new to the negotiations.
The source said the Israelis expressed their willingness to allow the return of 2,000 displaced Palestinian women, children, and elderly people above 50 in the first phase of the truce.
However, Hamas demanded the unconditional return of internally displaced people to Gaza under a complete ceasefire.
The return of the internally displaced people in Gaza is the main dispute in the ongoing ceasefire talks, Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, told reporters on Wednesday.
“The points that we were stuck on when we were negotiating in Paris in February are basically the same points we are stuck on now[…]now the remaining issue that you hear about everywhere is the return of the IDPs to their homes, which the Israelis didn’t agree to yet,” Sheikh Mohammed told the press.
Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza persisted for nearly six months, killing more than 33,000 people while displacing more than 80 percent of the population.
In Tel Aviv, mass protests have been taking place pressing Netanyahu to agree to a deal to release the captives as some called for his resignation.
The Hamas source told Al Jazeera that Netanyahu is only “trying to buy time, absorb the anger of the captives’ families, and show a false interest in continuing the negotiations.”
Netanyahu came under fire on Monday after Israel killed seven members of the World Central Kitchen in Gaza, mostly foreign nationals. The incident angered Israel’s ally, the United States, with a phone call between President Joe Biden and Netanyahu expected to take place on Thursday.
Four U.S. officials told Axios that the conversation is expected to be tense.
“Biden is pissed. The temperature regarding Bibi is very high,” one U.S. official told Axios.
Despite the global outrage towards Washington’s Gaza war policy and widening tensions with Tel Aviv, the Biden administration authorised the transfer of $2.5 billion of warplanes and weapons to Israel, The Washington Post reported on March 29.
The upcoming conversation between Biden and Netanyahu will likely discuss Israel’s planned invasion of Rafah, a matter that has heightened global concerns over the war in Gaza.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday, Qatar’s prime minister stressed that the move would only lead to another genocide.
“We don’t see any country but Israel supporting an attack on Rafah. You cannot corner the people, around 50 percent of the population in Gaza, almost 10 percent of the Strip, and attack them,” Sheikh Mohammed said.
“It won’t happen without committing a major genocide besides the genocide being committed in Gaza,” he added.
