Hamas criticizes the United States for changing the preliminary agreement

2024-08-20 17:34:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Hamas today accused the United States of adding to the uncertainty because the current US proposal for a cease-fire in Gaza - which US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said was acceptable to Israel - differs from the previous version agreed to by the militant group. Secretary Blinken, who is visiting Egypt today, said there are still "complicated issues" that require "difficult decisions by leaders." Meanwhile, the Israeli army announced that it found the bodies of six hostages kidnapped in the Hamas attack on October 7 last year, which triggered the start of the war in the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas said the latest version of the US proposal to reach a cease-fire in Gaza deviates from points where agreement had been reached before. Hamas accused Israel and its ally the United States of being disingenuous, saying the updated proposal "causes many ambiguities" because "it is not the one that was presented to us, nor the version that we agreed to."

"We don't need additional negotiations, we need to agree on the implementation mechanism. When (Secretary) Blinken says the Israelis have agreed and the Israelis say the proposal has been updated, it means the US administration is yielding to pressure from Israel and not the other way around," says senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan.

He accused Israel of new terms that contradict the US proposal, which, according to the Hamas official, provided for a full Israeli withdrawal in two phases and a permanent ceasefire, while Israel is seeking a temporary ceasefire of six weeks and the presence of its forces in two corridors, including at the border crossing with Egypt, according to the Hamas official.

Hamas' reaction came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Egypt's leaders as part of diplomatic efforts to persuade Israel and Hamas to agree to a deal that would halt 10 months of fighting in Gaza.

After meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, Secretary Blinken, who called the negotiations a "last-ditch" effort, said Israel agreed to the US proposal, which aims to bring the sides closer together, and called on Hamas to agree. with the plan.

American officials have not clarified what the changes are in the current version of the proposal, but Mr. Blinken said that "there are still open issues related to the implementation" of the agreement as well as the clarification of the obligations arising from it for the parties.

According to officials involved in the negotiations, there are disagreements about Israel's continued presence inside Gaza, particularly along the border with Egypt, about the free movement of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the number and identity of Palestinian prisoners expected to be exchanged. with the hostages kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7 attack.

The Israeli military announced Tuesday that its forces recovered the bodies of six hostages in an overnight operation in southern Gaza.

The troop withdrawal is a blow to Hamas, whose leaders hope to exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and a long-term ceasefire. But it is likely to increase pressure on the Israeli government to reach a deal to free dozens of hostages believed to be still alive.

Reuters news agency, citing Egyptian security sources, reported that the United States has proposed an international presence in the Gaza Strip, a suggestion it says is acceptable to Cairo if the mandate of this international presence is limited to six months. ./ Voa