Hamas source: Doha negotiations on Gaza truce failed

Sources in Hamas revealed that the last round of indirect negotiations between the movement and Israel in the Qatari capital, Doha, didn’t achieve any progress or breakthrough in any of the pending issues between the two parties, especially after the Israeli side insisted on the presence of 5 observation points along the Philadelphi axis, with a depth of 300-400 meters in the heart of the neighborhoods of Rafah, which was rejected by Hamas, while responsible Egyptian sources confirmed, earlier, Cairo’s rejection of any Israeli presence in the Philadelphi axis on the border with Egypt.

According to Hamas officials, the vote in the Israeli cabinet on Friday to keep the Israeli army in the Philadelphi corridor means completely closing the door to negotiations.

One Hamas official added, “The Philadelphi axis is the central negotiating issue between us and the occupation, and by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voting to keep the army in this axis, and at this depth in the city of Rafah, he wanted to close the negotiations and continue the war and occupation”.

Sources familiar with the negotiations said that the US mediator tried to focus the negotiations on the less difficult files, such as the keys to the prisoner exchange, and the specifications of the Palestinian prisoners who will be released in the first phase of the prisoner exchange process, noting that this approach did not achieve any breakthrough, as the Israeli side continued to have reservations about the names of 65 Palestinian prisoners, and to adhere to the principle of deporting a large number of prisoners outside Palestine.

According to informed sources, the Doha negotiations witnessed an Israeli withdrawal from a previous agreement to withdraw from the Netzarim axis.

One of the sources said, “The Israeli delegation agreed in the last round of Cairo negotiations, which preceded the Doha negotiations by several days, to withdraw from the Netzarim axis, but in these negotiations it didn’t provide official confirmation of Netanyahu’s approval of this withdrawal, which leaves the door open for him to withdraw from it”.

A Hamas official said, “It’s clear that Netanyahu doesn’t want to reach an agreement… He is evading the mediators, evading his people, and whenever an obstacle is removed, he rushes to create new obstacles”.

The Hamas official noted that the movement informed the mediators that it absolutely doesn’t accept this form of negotiations, and that it’s not prepared to create illusions among the Palestinian people that there is a negotiating opportunity.

He continued, “War Minister Yoav Galant announces, via the media, that Israel has no security need to remain in the Philadelphi corridor, and Netanyahu is rushing to get a vote in the cabinet to remain in this corridor… What does this mean? It means rejecting negotiations”.

Hamas officials considered that the US side isn’t exerting any pressure on the Israeli side, either because it’s unwilling to do so, or because it’s unable to do so, which casts deep doubts on the chances of success of this mediation.

Egypt, which is mediating the negotiations, reiterated earlier this week its rejection of any Israeli presence at the Rafah crossing or the Philadelphi corridor, stressing that it had informed all concerned parties of its unacceptability.

Meanwhile, negotiations to exchange prisoners and stopping the war in Gaza, which are taking place in the Qatari capital, Doha, have achieved progress in some issues, but have faced obstacles in others.

According to Egyptian source, “Egypt is managing the mediation between the two parties to the conflict in Gaza, in a manner consistent with its national security and preserving the rights of the Palestinians,” noting that the Egyptian delegation is doing its utmost to achieve a degree of consensus between the two parties, and is coordinating its efforts with partners in Qatar and the United States.

Cairo is sticking to its position on the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah crossing, as Israeli and US officials have confirmed, several times, that the Egyptians rejected the continued presence of Israeli forces.