Netanyahu to visit Washington, Israel sends negotiators to Qatar
July 6 (UPI) -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is travelling Monday to Washington as Israel sends negotiators to Qatar amid ongoing talks toward a ceasefire with Hamas. The administration of President Donald Trump also seeks to ease tensions along the Israel-Syria border.
It marks the Israeli leader's third visit to the United States since Trump returned to office, despite a warrant for his arrest issued by the International Criminal Court, of which neither the United States nor Israel are a party.
Netanyahu's visit comes after the U.S. participated in airstrikes during Israel's 12-day war against Iran. During Netanyahu's last trip to the White House in April, the Israeli prime minister appeared to be surprised when Trump said his administration would negotiate directly with Iran regarding efforts to curb its nuclear program.
Since then, Trump has increased pushes for deals that would lead to peace in the Middle East and the normalization of relations between Israel and its neighbors, possibly including Syria under the rule of its new leader, former al-Qaeda militant Ahmed al-Sharaa, after the president lifted sanctions on the country.
The Monday meeting is primarily expected to focus on a 60-day pause in hostilities with Hamas. In January 2025, Israel and Hamas signed a three-phase ceasefire deal. Phase One, which ended in early March, saw reciprocal hostage releases, humanitarian aid flows and partial Israeli withdrawals.
Ahead of Phase Two, Israel presented a revised plan with Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff seeking additional hostages, troop presence and governance conditions. Hamas rejected the amendments and Israel launched a major airstrike on March 18 that collapsed the truce. Since then, U.S.-brokered talks -- spurred by Trump's push for a 60-day ceasefire -- have resumed but remain stalled.
Last week, Trump announced that Israel had agreed to a new U.S.-backed 60-day temporary cease-fire proposal. Hamas has responded positively but is seeking to negotiate some changes.
Hussam Badran, head of Hamas' National Relations Office, said in a statement Sunday that the group held a series of extensive contacts with the leaders of other Palestinian factions to consult on Hamas' response to the new framework.
"These contacts witnessed a high level of practical and serious consultation between Hamas and the national and Islamic factions, resulting in a unified national consensus in support of the position of the Palestinian resistance forces," Badran said.
"Following the completion of internal and external consultations with the factions, Hamas' response was presented to the mediators and was formulated unanimously and in a positive spirit. This unified response was welcomed by all Palestinian factions and forces."
A senior Palestinian official told the BBC that Hamas has demanded that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a new Delaware-based and Israel-backed nonprofit that took over the distribution of aid to Gaza, cease operations immediately.
Humanitarian organizations like Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International and Oxfam have criticized the GHF after hundreds of people seeking aid have been shot at and killed by contractors and Israeli forces.
Hamas has also reportedly made a demand regarding Israeli troop withdrawal and has sought guarantees from the United States that Israel would not begin ground or air operations again, even if the ceasefire ended without a permanent truce.
The Gaza Health Ministry said Sunday that 80 people were killed and 304 people were injured in the enclave in the past 24 hours, bringing the number of deaths since the first ceasefire collapsed in March to 6,860. Nearly 60,000 people have been killed since the war began.
"The changes that Hamas is seeking to make in the Qatari proposal were conveyed to us last night and are unacceptable to Israel," Netanyahu's office said in a statement Saturday.
"In light of an assessment of the situation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed that the invitation to proximity talks be accepted and that the contacts for the return of our hostages -- on the basis of the Qatari proposal that Israel has agreed to -- be continued. The negotiating team will leave tomorrow for the talks in Qatar," the statement read.
Meanwhile, Naim Qassem -- a leader of Hezbollah, the armed Lebanese political party that reached a ceasefire with Israel last year -- delivered a speech Sunday that accused Israel of continuing to violate the terms of its deal while occupying parts of Lebanon.
In his speech, Qassem unequivocally opposed the normalization of relations with Israel, describing it as an unacceptable concession. He framed normalization as part of a broader effort to force surrender under the guise of diplomacy, which he said Hezbollah would never accept.
Qassem expressed conditional support for a Gaza ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, but insisted that any agreement must coincide with a complete halt to Israeli military operations in Lebanon.
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