Gaza ceasefire talks on verge of collapse, Palestinian officials say

Ammon

a day ago

Ammon News - Negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Qatar on a new Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal are on the brink of collapse, according to Palestinian officials familiar with the details of the discussions.
One senior official told the BBC that Israel had "bought time" during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington this week and deliberately stalled the process by sending a delegation to Doha with no real authority to make decisions on key points of contention.
They include the withdrawal of Israeli troops and humanitarian aid distribution.
Before he left the US on Thursday, Netanyahu had maintained a positive tone, saying he hoped to complete an agreement "in a few days".
He said the proposed deal would see Hamas release half of the 20 living hostages it is still holding and just over half of the 30 dead hostages during a truce lasting 60 days.
On Friday night, Palestinian officials familiar with the negotiations told the BBC they were on the verge of collapse, with the two sides deeply divided on several contentious issues.
They said the most recent discussions had focused on two of those issues: the mechanism for delivering humanitarian aid in Gaza and the extent of the Israeli military withdrawal.
Hamas has insisted that humanitarian assistance must enter Gaza and be distributed via United Nations agencies and international relief organisations.
According to mediators involved in the process, there has been some limited progress on bridging the divide over this issue. However, no formal agreement has been reached.
The second major sticking point is over the extent of the Israeli withdrawal.
During the fifth round of talks, Israeli negotiators reportedly handed mediators a written message stating that Israel would maintain a limited "buffer zone" inside Gaza that was between 1km and 1.5km (0.6-0.9 miles) deep.
Hamas, according to a Palestinian official who attended at least two of the rounds of talks, viewed this proposal as a possible starting point for compromise.
However, when Hamas requested and received a map outlining Israel's proposed withdrawal zones, the document contradicted the earlier message, showing far deeper military positions. The map was said to indicate buffer zones that were up to 3km (1.8 miles) deep in certain areas and confirmed a continued Israeli presence in vast swathes of territory.
They covered all of the southern city of Rafah, 85% of the village of Khuzaa east of Khan Younis, substantial parts of the northern towns of Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun, and eastern neighbourhoods of Gaza City, such as Tuffah, Shejaiya and Zeitoun.