Hamas leader Osama Hamdan described Israel’s stance as “negative” in talks on prisoner swaps with Palestinian factions in Gaza and a ceasefire, while simultaneously starting talks in Paris.
Hamas leader Osama Hamdan in the Lebanese capital Beirut told a news conference:
“The occupation’s positions and responses to the mediators are negative, and they put many obstacles in the way of reaching an agreement,” Hamdan said, explaining as follows: “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is procrastinating and evading, aiming to hinder reaching an agreement. He does not care about releasing prisoners held by the resistance. Rather, it is a card he uses to achieve his goals.”
Hamdan highlighted: “Netanyahu imposes four conditions on his delegation for any upcoming negotiations: no cessation of aggression, no withdrawal from the Strip, no return of displaced people to the north and no real exchange deal.”
“Netanyahu’s government’s insistence on pursuing a genocidal war against civilians in the Gaza Strip, without concern even for the killing of more hostages (Israelis) held by the resistance under Zionist brutal bombardment, will not be stopped by mere ideas and initiatives, but requires firm stances and practical measures to end the aggression and respond to the rights of our people, leading to ending the occupation,” he said.
In the end, Hamdan pointed out that his movement “dealt positively with the proposals and initiatives of the mediators, and proceeded with its clear priorities to stop the aggression against Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.”
In the meantime, Hamas says it will not release the remaining hostages until Israel agrees to end hostilities and withdraw from Gaza; Israel, in turn, highlights it will not leave until Hamas is destroyed.
The latest ceasefire talks collapsed a fortnight ago when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected as “delusional” a Hamas truce proposal that would have ended with the withdrawal of Israeli troops.
Israel launched its campaign in Gaza after Hamas militants carried out an attack on 7 October, killing 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages, according to Israeli calculations. Around 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza so far, according to health authorities, and thousands more are believed to be lying beneath the rubble.
Hamdan’s statements came amid the start of the Paris meetings to discuss a ceasefire in Gaza, which include delegations from Hamas and Israel, as well as Egypt, Qatar and the US, with the goals of achieving a ceasefire in Gaza, releasing Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and supporting humanitarian conditions in the Strip.
