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Is Israel sabotaging ceasefire negotiations?
According to Hassan Barari, professor of international relations at Qatar University, Israel’s escalation of attacks in Gaza amid ceasefire negotiations is part of a pattern of undermining talks whenever a deal appears close.
“Every time we seem close to a deal, Israel does something to undermine the talks, to push Hamas into a more extreme position,” Barari told Al Jazeera.
Barari also pointed to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s demand for continued security control over two key corridors in Gaza – the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors – conditions strongly opposed by both Hamas and Egypt.
Netanyahu’s insistence on these points “might be a tactic to undermine the peace talks”, said Barari.
Hamas sending delegation to Egypt today
Hamas will dispatch a delegation to Cairo today as talks over a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and a deal to exchange Israeli captives held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners continue, Al Jazeera sources say.
According to an unnamed “senior official” of the group who spoke to AFP news agency, Hamas will not participate in this round of talks even though a delegation will be present in Cairo.
“The delegation will meet with senior Egyptian intelligence officials to be briefed on developments in the ongoing round of Gaza ceasefire talks … but this does not mean it will take part in the negotiations,” the unnamed Hamas official told AFP.
“Hamas has said from the beginning that it will not participate in this round of negotiations, which began last week in Doha,” the official said.
The expected arrival of the Hamas delegation follows what the US said was “progress” in long-stalled ceasefire negotiations. However, as we’ve reported, major obstacles to a deal remain, particularly Israel’s demand to retain security control over several key Gaza corridors.
Hamas’s Khalil al-Hayya to head Cairo delegation
In a statement by its media office, Hamas said the delegation will be headed by senior official Khalil al-Hayya. As the ceasefire talks continue, Hamas called on Israel to agree to the principles laid out in the US-backed proposal from May 31 and to stop “obstructing” a deal.
Hamas delegation in Cairo
US officials at the current talks are “discussing with mediators new proposals to bridge the gap between Israel and Hamas”, according to an informed Egyptian source cited by AFP news agency.
One sided negotiations, Hamas just getting briefed on what the US and Israel are negotiating.
For ceasefire talks, ‘not a lot of reasons for optimism’
Gershon Baskin, a former Israeli negotiator, says Netanyahu is the reason Gaza peace talks in Cairo are not moving forward and that Hamas may need to find a new strategy.
“I understand from Egyptian sources that there’s a very small chance that Hamas will agree to the Israeli security plan, which is mostly focused on the Philadelphi Corridor, the 14-kiolmetre border road of Gaza and Egypt,” he told Al Jazeera from West Jerusalem.
“There needs to be an acceptable Palestinian control of the Rafah crossing with international supervision,” he said, adding that there “doesn’t seem like a whole lot of reasons for optimism.”
Baskin also said that the army and the intelligence say that Israel can withdraw from Gaza and end the war.
Even if a Gaza ceasefire is agreed, Israel has made clear it reserves the right to resume the war with Hamas
https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/23/politics/gaza-ceasefire-israel-right-resume-fighting/index.html
Months of feverish negotiations, in different cities and at multiple levels, have gotten Israel and Hamas closer to striking a ceasefire deal. But even if an agreement is reached – still far from certain – it could end up lasting only weeks before it collapses and the war in Gaza resumes.
As senior negotiators prepare to meet this weekend in Cairo, there are still several sticking points in the talks over the potential three-phase agreement. But Israel has made it clear that following the initial six-week phase, a break in the fighting may be just that and it is not ready to agree to a permanent ceasefire.
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“What we’re focused on right now is getting a ceasefire deal in place, getting those hostages home, getting six weeks of calm,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said last week. “That’s really what our goal is right now.”
