A Hamas official announced on Wednesday that the group would not participate in upcoming Gaza ceasefire talks scheduled for Thursday in Qatar but indicated they might engage with mediators afterward. Sami Abu Zuhri, a representative of Hamas, emphasized that the group remains committed to a proposal put forward earlier this month, which is based on a UN Security Council resolution and a speech by US President Joe Biden. He warned that entering new negotiations could enable the occupation to impose additional conditions and exploit the process to carry out more massacres.
The Israeli government has ruled out accepting Hamas’s proposal, which calls for the release of 40 Israel hostages in exchange for more than ten times as many Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. The proposal also seeks to limit the number of rocket attacks fired from the Palestinian territory into Israel. The Palestinian group has rebuffed repeated offers from Israel to negotiate a prisoner swap deal, and Netanyahu blames Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar for blocking the process.
Hamas has insisted that Israel’s lack of seriousness, procrastination, and the recent massacres of unarmed civilians are the main reasons behind its decision to suspend talks. A Hamas official cited Sunday’s deadly air strike on the Al-Mawasi school in southern Gaza, which killed 92 people, as another reason for the decision to withdraw.
Hamas’s refusal to join the Gaza talks could jeopardize the efforts of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to secure an agreement in a face-to-face meeting with both sides. According to sources close to the talks, Blinken plans to bring both parties to the table by flying to Qatar this week.
The US has pushed for an immediate deal to end the fighting in Gaza, which has killed more than 2,300 Palestinians and 67 Israelis since a ceasefire agreement was reached in June. But the conflict has become increasingly complex as the Palestinians struggle to overcome a decade-long impasse with Israel over Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations and control of Gaza, which the militants have controlled since 2007.
An official briefed on the talks said that mediators expected to consult with Hamas afterward, and the US had no plans to take it off the agenda. The official added that the US remained confident that a successful outcome was possible, but the success of talks depended on the Palestinian side’s readiness to work towards a solution. “They have to decide if they want to end the war,” the official said. “If they do, we will help them get there.” The official declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the discussions. The official said the Gaza ceasefire talks were crucial for Hamas’s willingness to compromise. Hamas officials have previously praised the US for its mediation efforts but have not publicly spoken about the most recent sessions in Doha. Israel is expected to send a delegation to the Gaza talks.
