logo
Hamas stalling ceasefire talks by delaying response: Hebrew media

Hamas stalling ceasefire talks by delaying response: Hebrew media

Roya Newsa day ago
A new report by Ynet claims that Hamas is delaying its response to the latest proposal put forward by mediators, causing frustration and stagnation in ongoing negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire and captives exchange deal.
Citing sources familiar with the discussions, the report accuses Hamas of "dragging its feet, creating difficulties, and preventing a breakthrough." The group is allegedly trying to maximize the terms of the deal, leading to a lack of progress.
An 'Israeli' source quoted in the report stated, "The talks are going badly. We are in the same situation; it is not progressing." The source claimed that as a result of Hamas' delay, 'Israeli' officials now doubt that a breakthrough can be achieved this week.
One notable sign of the deadlock, according to the report, is the absence of US envoy Steve Witkoff from the talks in Doha. Witkoff is expected to arrive in the Qatari capital only when the negotiations near a conclusion.
'Israel' is also considering sending Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer to join the US envoy in Doha, an indication of the importance of the talks and Qatar's central role as mediator. Dermer, known for his critical stance on Qatar, would signal a shift in 'Israeli' posture if he joins the discussions.
Meanwhile, US officials are reportedly growing impatient with Hamas, frustrated by the lack of progress. However, the report notes that should Hamas respond positively to the proposal, pressure may shift toward 'Israel' to show more flexibility.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

U.S. envoy Witkoff to meet Israeli, Qatari officials in Rome in Gaza ceasefire push
U.S. envoy Witkoff to meet Israeli, Qatari officials in Rome in Gaza ceasefire push

Ammon

time43 minutes ago

  • Ammon

U.S. envoy Witkoff to meet Israeli, Qatari officials in Rome in Gaza ceasefire push

Ammon News - White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff plans to meet in Rome on Thursday with senior Qatari and Israeli officials to continue negotiations over the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal, two sources with knowledge of the meeting told Axios. The trilateral meeting in Rome will take place as negotiators from Hamas and Israel holding indirect negotiations in Doha on the last sticking points. Witkoff made it clear to the parties in recent weeks that he will join the talks in Doha only if a deal is close at hand. But sources with knowledge of the issue said that the meeting in Rome is a signal that a deal might be a matter of days away. Witkoff is expected to depart for Rome on Wednesday and arrive on Thursday for a meeting with Israeli minister for strategic affairs Ron Dermer and a senior Qatari envoy. It will be a follow-up to a similar meeting between the three at the White House two weeks ago. If sufficient progress is made, Witkoff will travel from Rome to Doha toward the end of the week to try and seal the deal, according to a U.S. source and an Israeli source familiar with the details. Israel and mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. are waiting for Hamas' response to the latest proposal.

Beyond Gaza's shadow: The unseen war for the West Bank's future
Beyond Gaza's shadow: The unseen war for the West Bank's future

Ammon

time43 minutes ago

  • Ammon

Beyond Gaza's shadow: The unseen war for the West Bank's future

Israel is meticulously following a textbook model of instigating unrest in the occupied West Bank. The latest such provocations consisted of stripping the Palestinian-run Hebron (Al-Khalil) municipality of its administrative powers over the venerable Ibrahimi Mosque. Worse, according to Israel Hayom, it granted these powers to the religious council of the Kiryat Arba Jewish settlement, an extremist settler body. Though all Jewish settlers in occupied Palestine can be qualified as extremists, the approximately 7,500 inhabitants of Kiryat Arba represent a more virulent category. This settlement, established in 1972, serves as a strategic foothold to justify subjecting Hebron to stricter military control than virtually any other part of the West Bank. Kiryat Arba is infamously linked to Baruch Goldstein, the US-Israeli settler who, in February 1994, unleashed a horrific attack. He opened fire at Muslim worshipers kneeling for dawn prayer at the Ibrahimi Mosque, mercilessly killing 29. This bloodbath was swiftly followed by another, where the Israeli army brutally cracked down on Palestinian protesters in Hebron and across the West Bank, murdering an additional 25 Palestinians. Yet, the Israeli Shamgar Commission, tasked with investigating the massacre, resolved in 1994 that the Palestinian mosque, a site of profound religious significance, was to be grotesquely divided: 63% allocated to Jewish worshipers and a mere 37% to Palestinian Muslims. Since that calamitous decision, oppressive restrictions have been systematically imposed. These include pervasive surveillance and, at times, unjustifiable, extended closures of the site, solely for exclusive settler use. The latest decision, described by Israel Hayom as "historic and unprecedented," is profoundly dangerous. It places the fate of this historic Palestinian mosque directly into the hands of those fanatically keen on acquiring the holy site in its entirety. But the Ibrahimi Mosque is merely a microcosm of something far more sinister underway across the West Bank. Israel has exploited its war in Gaza to dramatically escalate its violence, carry out mass arrests, confiscate vast tracts of land, systematically destroy Palestinian farms and orchards, and aggressively expand illegal settlements. Though the West Bank, previously largely subdued by joint Israeli military pressures and Palestinian Authority crackdowns, was not a direct party to the October 7, 2023, assault nor the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza, it has inexplicably become a major focus for Israeli military measures. In the first year of the war, over 10,400 Palestinians were detained in Israeli army crackdowns, with thousands held without charge. Furthermore, hundreds of Palestinians have been forcibly ethnically cleansed, largely from the northern West Bank, where entire refugee camps and towns have been systematically destroyed in protracted Israeli military campaigns. Israel's overarching aim remains the strangulation of the West Bank. This is achieved by severing communities using ubiquitous military checkpoints, imposing total closures of vast regions, and the cruel suspension of work permits for Palestinian laborers, who are almost entirely dependent on the Israeli work market for survival. This insidious plan also explicitly targeted all Palestinian holy sites, including the revered Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, and the Ibrahimi Mosque. Even when these shrines were nominally accessible, age restrictions and suffocating military checkpoints make it difficult, at times utterly impossible, for Palestinians to worship there. In August 2024, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted that his relentless violent campaign against the West Bank was part of confronting the "broader Iran terror axis." Practically, this statement served as a green light for the Israeli army to treat the West Bank as an extension of the ongoing Israeli genocide on Gaza. By mid-July 2025, over 900 Palestinians had been killed by the Israeli army in the West Bank, while at least 15 were murdered by settlers. As Palestinians were pushed further against the wall, with no centralized strategy by their leadership to meaningfully resist, Israel exponentially increased its illegal settlement constructions and the brazen legalization of numerous outposts, many built illegally even by Israeli government standards. Israel's actions in the West Bank were not a sudden deviation but consistent with a long-standing, insidious scheme. This includes a plan solidified by the Israeli Knesset in 2020 that allowed Israel to officially annex the West Bank. Israel's ultimate goal has always been to confine the majority of Palestinians into Bantustan-like enclaves, while asserting full control over the vast majority of the region. In August 2023, extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir articulated this sinister vision: "My right, the right of my wife and my children to move around Judea and Samaria (the occupied West Bank) is more important than freedom of movement for the Arabs." More coercive measures swiftly followed, including Knesset laws to significantly curtail UNRWA operations, and further legislation to entrench de facto annexation. Last May, Smotrich audaciously announced 22 more settlements. On July 2, 14 Israeli ministers made a public call on Netanyahu to immediately annex the West Bank. In fact, every action Israel has undertaken, especially since the commencement of its devastating genocide in Gaza, has been carefully calculated to culminate in the irreversible annexation of the West Bank - a process that would inevitably be followed by declaring native inhabitants persona non grata in their own homeland. This level of systemic pressure and oppression will ultimately lead to a popular explosion. Though suppressed by the brutality of the Israeli army, the terror of armed settlers, and the suppressive actions of the Palestinian Authority, the breaking point is fast approaching. Those in the West who preach hollow calls for calm and de-escalation must understand the region is hurtling towards the brink. Neither diplomatic platitudes nor sterile press releases will suffice to avert the catastrophe. They are advised to act decisively against Israel's destructive policies, and they must act immediately. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of six books. His latest book, co-edited with Ilan Pappé, is 'Our Vision for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders and Intellectuals Speak Out'. His other books include 'My Father was a Freedom Fighter' and 'The Last Earth'. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA)

Witkoff departs to the Middle East to discuss a ceasefire in Gaza
Witkoff departs to the Middle East to discuss a ceasefire in Gaza

Al Bawaba

timean hour ago

  • Al Bawaba

Witkoff departs to the Middle East to discuss a ceasefire in Gaza

ALBAWABA - US President Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, is heading to the region to discuss a ceasefire in Gaza amid deteriorating situation and ongoing war, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce announced Tuesday at a press conference at the State Department in Washington. Also Read Ten AFP journalists are at risk of starvation in Gaza Bruce said, "During my conversation today with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he indicated that the special envoy is now heading to the Middle East, and everyone—the president, the secretary, and the special envoy—is optimistic about progress in the ceasefire negotiations and about a humanitarian corridor for the flow of aid agreed to by both sides." She added that the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio proposed the idea of an aid corridor in Gaza that would allow multiple entities to deliver aid without it being "hijacked by Hamas". She maintained, "The humanitarian situation in Gaza requires a ceasefire and a corridor for the movement of humanitarian aid convoys." On the other hand, activists staged a protest in front of the US State Department in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday evening, protesting the continued starvation policy in Gaza and the killing of Palestinian civilians attempting to get humanitarian aid from aid distribution centers in Gaza, which is monitorized by a US-backed organization. They also denounced continued US support for the Israeli occupation.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store