A top official in the Palestinian Resistance has said in an interview with the Lebanese news network Al-Mayadeen that Hamas “will not participate in the Doha meetings on Thursday.”
Speaking to Al-Mayadeen, Ahmed Abdel Hadi said that the Palestinian Movement Hamas “rejects the start of negotiations without relying on the last proposal presented on July 2,” because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has set new conditions that would undermine the negotiations.
“The current atmosphere is one of deception and procrastination by Netanyahu, who is stalling for time while preparations are being made for a response to the assassination of martyrs Ismail Haniyeh and Fouad Shukr, Abdel Hadi told Al-Mayadeen.
“The movement is expected to return to a previous state, which is not in the interest of our Palestinian people,” he added, stressing that Hamas “will not engage in negotiations that provide cover for Netanyahu and his extremist government.”
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‘Intent to Escalate’
According to Abdel Hadi, the assassination of Haniyeh and the massacre of worshippers in the Tabaeen school demonstrate Netanyahu’s intent to escalate Israel’s aggression on Gaza.
Hamas believes that “tomorrow’s negotiations will start from a point even before zero”. Therefore, the movement “found it unproductive to begin from points that had already been settled.”
However, Abdel Hadi reiterated that “if there is full commitment to the July 2 paper, the movement is ready for a detailed discussion.”
‘Netanyahu is Deceptive’
Maher al-Taher, a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, echoed this sentiment, stating that “Netanyahu is being deceptive about resuming negotiations”.
The resistance insists it “will not participate in negotiations that lead to more massacres against the Palestinian people”, al-Taher said, adding that this stance may change if the resistance receives specific guarantees from mediators.
Tripartite Statement
Negotiations are scheduled to take place on Thursday in the Qatari capital of Doha, following an invitation from Qatar, Egypt, and the United States to resume talks.
This comes amid the risks of the war escalating due to Israeli actions targeting Lebanon and Iran and the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh and Fouad Shukr, with Iran and Hezbollah threatening to respond.
Previously, Hamas had stated that it did not view the tripartite Qatari-Egyptian-American statement as a “solid basis” for reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
In recent days, the movement has repeatedly urged mediators in Qatar and Egypt to propose a plan to implement the agreement reached on July 2, rather than engaging in new negotiations.
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In a statement, Hamas explained that its demand is based on Israel’s rejection and continued massacres against the Palestinian people, despite the flexibility and positivity offered by the movement to achieve the people’s goals, stop the bloodshed, and halt the genocide.
Hamas had agreed to a proposal on May 6 and welcomed US President Joe Biden’s announcement and UN Security Council Resolution 2735, calling for a ceasefire.
Ongoing Genocide
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 39,965 Palestinians have been killed, and 92,294 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
(PC, Al-Mayadeen)
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