Hamas official welcomes Qatari PM and Turkish, Egyptian spy chiefs to Gaza talks
Izzat al-Risheq, a member of the Palestinian group’s political bureau, has welcomed Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, the head of Turkiye’s spy agency, Ibrahim Kalin, and the head of the Egyptian Intelligence Service, Hassan Mahmoud Rashad, to ongoing ceasefire negotiations in the Egyptian town of Sharm el-Sheikh.
In a statement, the Palestinian group said the officials give the negotiations a “strong impetus to achieve positive results towards a ceasefire and a prisoner exchange”.
Hamas added that the inclusion of the officials “narrows Netanyahu’s room for manoeuvre to continue the aggression and derail the negotiations”.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad to join Gaza truce talks in Egypt
A delegation from the armed group will arrive in Egypt tonight to participate in the indirect negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh between Israel and Hamas, according to the PIJ statement.
PIJ is currently holding Israeli captives. It is the smaller of the two main Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip and is vastly outnumbered by the governing Hamas group.
US should use leverage on Israel to secure peace in Gaza
Adnan Hayajneh, professor of international relations at Qatar University, says the big question around the ceasefire relates to whether Israel will live up to what it agrees.
“There is a huge problem over the trust of Netanyahu. He does not follow through with agreements. He does not believe in peace and does not believe in a Palestinian state,” Hayajneh told Al Jazeera.
Hayajneh says it is necessary to ensure the US shows a commitment to using its leverage over Netanyahu; otherwise, Hamas will likely not accept the deal.
“They know from past experience that they will agree to something, they will return the hostages, there will be an exchange or swap of the captives, but after that, Netanyahu will find any excuse,” Hayajneh said.
