Failure of Gaza talks: Hamas rejects Trump's remarks

L'Orient-Le Jour

a day ago

Hamas on Saturday rejected as 'shocking' the remarks made by U.S. President Donald Trump, who accused the Palestinian Islamist movement of not wanting an agreement on a Gaza cease-fire.
On Friday, Donald Trump said that Hamas 'did not want a deal' following the failure of indirect negotiations with Israel held in Doha, and that they 'wanted to die.' His envoy Steve Witkoff officially declared the failure of these talks on Thursday after more than two weeks of mediation by Qatar, the U.S. and Egypt, blaming Hamas's good faith.
'These statements by the U.S. president and his envoy have shocked everyone,' Hamas leader Taher al-Nounou told AFP. He added, 'They are all the more surprising as they come after progress on certain negotiation files.'
'So far, we have not been informed of any issues concerning the negotiation files.'
According to another Hamas official, Izzat al-Risheq, Washington 'turns a blind eye to the real obstacle to any agreement, namely the government of [Benjamin] Netanyahu, which puts up obstacles, procrastinates, and evades its commitments.'
Risheq explained that Hamas had shown 'flexibility' and only wished to 'clarify' certain aspects of the proposal put forward by the United States. He called on the U.S. administration to 'pressure the [Israeli] occupation government to seriously commit to reaching an agreement.'
Hamas, which took power in 2007, had responded to the offer of a 60-day truce accompanied by a hostage release by proposing amendments concerning the entry of aid, the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and guarantees on the end of the war.
Israel, which refuses to give such guarantees, wants to dismantle Hamas, expel it from Gaza, and take control of the territory devastated by war. The Israeli army has besieged Gaza since October 2023 and controls all its access points, after launching a large-scale offensive in response to Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israeli territory on Oct. 7, 2023.