Hamas appears unlikely to accept the latest U.S.-backed proposal for a ceasefire to end the more-than 10-month conflict in the Gaza Strip.
The United State, Egypt, and Qatar mediated a discussion last week in the Qatari capital of Doha, aiming to bridge the gaps between Israel and Hamas on ceasefire terms. Hamas declined to engage in the Doha talks, raising concerns that the Israeli side is deviating further away from the ceasefire terms Israel set out in May.
President Joe Biden had said, in a May 31 speech, that the ceasefire framework would follow a three-phase plan, whereby both sides would exchange captives, and Israeli forces would withdraw from the Gaza Strip.
Following the Doha talks, the U.S., Egyptian, and Qatari intermediaries issued a joint statement insisting they had put forward a plan to address any final sticking points on the ceasefire deal. The three intermediaries said they would meet again in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, with hopes to finalize the deal. But Hamas doesn’t appear to be swayed by the latest plan.
“After listening to the mediators about what happened in the last round of talks in Doha, we were once again assured that [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] is still putting obstacles in the way of reaching an agreement, and is setting new conditions and demands, with the aim of thwarting the mediators’ efforts and prolonging the war,” Hamas said in an Aug. 18 press statement.
Thus far, the intermediaries have offered few specifics about their bridging proposal, and what sticking points they believed it would address.
While Hamas seeks a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, Israeli officials have indicated they could retain control of the Philadelphi Corridor; a stretch of road that runs through the entire length of the territory. To control the corridor would necessarily require an Israeli presence within at least part of the Gaza Strip.
A senior Biden administration official previewed the Doha bridging proposal on Friday, during an officially-organized background press call Friday. But the official didn’t directly answer what would become of the Philadelphi Corridor in the course of the ceasefire deal.
“On the Philadelphi Corridor, we’ve been working very closely with Egypt and others—and also, of course, Egypt through mediation with Hamas—about the arrangements in the Philadelphi Corridor,” the Biden administration official said. “I think that issue is moving the right way and, I think, very consistent with the May 27th text.”
Hamas officials claimed the Doha bridging proposal appears to leave Israel in control of the Philadelphi Corridor and another key passage, the Netzarim Corridor, which bisects the top third of the Gaza Strip.
Throughout the war, Netanyahu has insisted Israel would outright defeat and dismantle Hamas, in response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack inside southern Israel. Hamas negotiators have been reluctant to accept their defeat and ouster as a condition for an eventual peace.
“The new proposal responds to Netanyahu’s conditions and aligns with them, especially his rejection of a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and his insistence on continuing to occupy the Netzarim Junction, the Rafah Crossing, and the Philadelphi Corridor,” Hamas said. “He also set new conditions for the prisoner exchange file, and backed down on other items, which prevents the completion of the exchange deal.”
Hamas insisted they would stand firm on demands for a full ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
This article was originally published by FreeBase News and is reprinted with permission.
