Gaza Truce Talks: The ball is now completely in Israel's court...Why did Hamas have to say this?
Gaza Truce Talks: After accepting Hamas' ceasefire proposal, Netanyahu's office rejected it, calling it 'far from Israel's essential demands'. After which both sides sent their delegations to Cairo for talks.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniya. (file photo)
After two days of long talks, the Hamas delegation has returned to Qatar from Cairo. After the meetings on the ceasefire agreement, Hamas members, before returning to Qatar, said that the ball of the agreement is now completely in Israel's court. Expressing objection on several central issues, Hamas has rejected the Israeli proposal. "We stand by our proposal, the ball is now completely in the occupier's hands," Hamas said in a message to other Palestinian factions.
Both sides returned without any agreement
Al-Cairo, a media outlet linked to the Egyptian government, reported on Thursday that after two days of talks on the deal, delegations from both sides had returned from Cairo. According to Al-Cahira, mediators Egypt, Qatar, and America are still trying to stop the war that has been going on for 7 months.
Hamas accepted the proposal
On Monday, Hamas said that it had accepted the ceasefire proposal put forward by mediators. However Israel did not agree to the conditions put forward by Hamas. The Hamas agreement included the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the return of Palestinians displaced by the war, a permanent ceasefire, and the exchange of hostages of Palestinian prisoners detained in Israel. But this proposal was rejected by Netanyahu's office as 'far from Israel's essential demands'. After which delegations were sent by both sides to Cairo to negotiate the agreement.
Where is the matter getting stuck?
Israel has long opposed a permanent ceasefire and insists that it must complete the task of eliminating Hamas. Hamas is adamant on a permanent ceasefire and complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the reconstruction of Gaza. Because of this, this war is prolonged.