Hamas: Netanyahu is still putting obstacles in the way of reaching an agreement

The Hamas Movement said in a statement issued on Sunday that after being briefed by the mediators about what happened in the last round of talks in Doha, the Movement once again came to the conclusion that Netanyahu is still putting obstacles in the way of reaching an agreement, and is setting new conditions and demands with the aim of undermining the mediators’ efforts and prolonging the war.

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 Corridor” area, the Rafah Crossing and the Philadelphi Corridor. He [Netanyahu] also set new conditions in the prisoner exchange file, and backed down from others, which all prevent the completion of the exchange deal, the statement reads.

Hamas held Netanyahu fully responsible for the failure of the mediators’ efforts, the obstruction of reaching an agreement, and full responsible for the lives of his prisoners, who are exposed to the same danger that our people are exposed to due to his continued aggression and systematic targeting of all aspects of life in the Gaza Strip.

“We, in the Hamas Movement, affirm our commitment to what we agreed upon on July 2, based on the Biden declaration and the Security Council resolution. We call on the mediators to assume their responsibilities and oblige the occupation to implement what was agreed upon.”

The Movement stressed that it dealt responsibly with “the efforts of the mediator brothers in Qatar and Egypt and with all the proposals aimed at reaching an agreement to stop the aggression against our people and conclude a prisoner exchange deal to spare the blood of our people and put an end to the war of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and brutal massacres committed by the occupation government and army against our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.”

The Movement also expressed its approval of the mediators’ proposal on May 6, 2024, welcomed President Biden’s announcement, and what was stated in the UN Security Council resolution, and responded to the proposal presented by the mediators and approved it on July 2, 2024.

Following the release of the trilateral statement, the Movement demanded that the mediators submit a plan to implement what they had presented to the movement, and agreed on it, so that the negotiations do not remain in a vicious circle due to Netanyahu’s procrastination and his placing of more conditions and obstacles in the way of reaching an agreement, in a way that serves his strategy to gain time and prolong the aggression.