Hamas and Israel delegations returned to their bases – There is, once again, no light at the tunnel
A Hamas delegation left Cairo tonight, Ezzat Risk, one of its officials, said, as the United States, Egypt and Qatar try to broker a deal between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement for a cease-fire in Gaza. .
Hamas envoys “met the Egyptian and Qatari mediators who briefed them on the results of the latest negotiations,” Risk said. His movement's position remains unchanged: Hamas wants, as Risk reiterated, “a complete ceasefire, a complete withdrawal (of Israeli troops), the return of the displaced, the entry of humanitarian aid, reconstruction and an exchange agreement” between Palestinian prisoners and hostages in Gaza.
At the same time, a senior Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, said the organization stands by the July 2 proposal for a cease-fire in Gaza, rejects the new Israeli terms and reports that talks of an imminent deal are false. “We will not accept discussions about withdrawals from what we agreed on July 2 or about new terms,” he said, speaking on the Al-Aqsa Organization's television network.
And the Israeli negotiating delegation, consisting of its leader Mossad David Barnea, Shin Bet chief Ronan Barr and the head of the IDF's missing persons and prisoners division, Lt. Gen. Nijan Alon, returned to Israel.
