Israel and Hamas stick to their position towards a ceasefire – DW – 05/06/2024

The meeting in Cairo to reach a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip ended on Sunday (05/05/2024) without any concrete progress due to the inflexible positions of both sides after seven months of war.

A senior Hamas official gave this information to the agency AFP His delegation left for Qatar after disagreements grew over the terms of an agreement, which includes a ceasefire as well as the release of hostages. However, Egyptian media reported that the group would return to the Egyptian capital on 7 May “to conclude indirect talks” with Israel. Al Qahera NewsCiting a “well-informed source”, close to the intelligence services.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that accepting Hamas’s “demands” to end the war in Gaza would be “a terrible defeat for the State of Israel” and tantamount to “surrender.” In response, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh accused Netanyahu of “thwarting the efforts of mediators” to achieve a ceasefire in the devastated region after nearly seven months of conflict.

The latest ceasefire proposal that brokers Qatar, Egypt and the United States presented in late April to Hamas – a group considered by the European Union as a terrorist group – called for a cessation of fighting for 40 days and an exchange of Israeli hostages. -Makes provision for replacement. Gaza from October 7, 2023 in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel.

A Hamas leader insisted on Sunday that his movement would not “under any circumstances” accept a deal that does not explicitly include an end to the war. Netanyahu reiterated at a cabinet meeting that Israel cannot accept Hamas’s “extremist stance”.

Israel was not present at the Cairo talks. However, according to American media, CIA chief William Burns attended. A source close to the talks said Burns was heading to Qatar for an “urgent meeting” with Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani “in the absence of progress”.

AMA (AFP, EFE, AP, dpa, Reuters)