Negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas, which began with the goal of a cease-fire in the besieged Gaza Strip, are now deadlocked. The primary reason for this is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's refusal to withdraw Israeli forces from Gaza in exchange for an end to the war and the release of all remaining hostages.—This is what the three Arab officials of the mediating countries said. They gave this information while talking to The Times of Israel last week.
The officials also acknowledged that Hamas also rejected a recent offer of a temporary ceasefire in exchange for a small number of hostages. But they argued that the devastating factor behind the failure of those proposals was that the terror group had long made clear it would not accept any framework that ensured Israel could resume fighting in Gaza.
Asked why Egypt and Qatar tried to advance such proposals for a temporary truce if they knew Hamas would not accept them, one Arab diplomat said the Biden administration pushed the idea that mediators would push through every possible means. Encouraged.
The deal under negotiation allows for the resumption of fighting in Gaza and the IDF's presence there. And Hamas strongly opposes both of these conditions. However, Arab mediators were also willing to support this red line of Hamas. But Netanyahu opposes any deal that does not include these two conditions. And the diplomats also rejected his position.
“The United States sees things the same way,” said a second Arab diplomat. President Joe Biden said it was time for the war to end and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the US would not accept Israeli troops in Gaza.
Explaining Netanyahu's reluctance to both demands, an Israeli official familiar with the hostage negotiations said withdrawing Israeli troops from Gaza would “damage the picture of victory” it is trying to paint. Prime Minister
Israeli officials declined to comment on whether Netanyahu's reluctance to end the war was politically motivated. As much as the prime minister's critics have argued, it points to that commitment by Netanyahu's right-wing coalition partners. The right-wing warned they would call for the fall of the government if Netanyahu agreed to such a hostage deal after the war.
Netanyahu's strategy in recent months, the first Arab diplomat speculated, was to include negotiations to secure better truce terms for Israel when US President-elect Donald Trump enters the White House in two months.
Arab diplomats from mediating countries said, 'This strategy is wrong. Because, Trump is in charge only because Hamas will not withdraw from their main demands.'
Families of the hostages also warned that it might not be possible for their loved ones to survive in captivity for another two months. They urged the Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration to work together to secure a deal ahead of Trump's inauguration on January 20.
The IDF said on Saturday it was investigating claims by Hamas that a female hostage was killed in a recent IDF bombing in northern Gaza.
Former Trump officials told The Times of Israel last month that Israeli officials agree that Trump may be more willing than Biden to accept the presence of Israeli forces remaining in Gaza after the war.
This does not mean, however, that Hamas will agree to release all remaining hostages on such terms. Because the terrorist group sees the hostages as a ploy they can use to force a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the Israeli official said.
Ending the war and agreeing to a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces would likely encourage Hamas to commit some form of breach. But Arab officials argue it is an inevitability.
'Palestinians will always be sensitive to the appointment of Hamas as a ruler,' argued the first Arab diplomat. But the longer the war goes on, the more this trend will increase. But it is uncertain whether the hostages will be alive or not.
“Meanwhile, we see the Israeli army building infrastructure in Gaza indefinitely,” said a second Arab diplomat, pointing to the Netzarim corridor.
The IDF has established a five-kilometer-wide reserved military zone in the Netzerim corridor. Cellular towers and water supply lines from Israel have also been installed there.
The Arab diplomat argued critically that Netanyahu rejected any role for the Palestinian Authority in Gaza and compared the PAK to Hamas. But the international community sees Ramallah as the only viable option for Hamas to create a political horizon for an eventual two-state solution. However, Israel strongly rejects this framework.
For most of the first year of the war, the US urged Israel to plan for post-war management of Gaza. But Netanyahu rejected such a request from Washington. Any effort is futile as long as Hamas remains in power in Gaza, he stressed.
But more recently he also acknowledged that, even if it is to prevent Hamas from regrouping, an alternative force needs to be in place to manage the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
After refusing to allow the PKK to play that role, Netanyahu has, however, begun to entertain the idea of ​​involving countries such as the United Arab Emirates in rebuilding the region, the Israeli official said.
However, Abu Dhabi has repeatedly made clear that the country will not support the reconstruction and management of Gaza if a reformed PA does not form part of a credible path to a two-state solution. But Israel refused to accept these conditions.
The Arab diplomat argued, 'The US is well aware that Netanyahu is the main obstacle to a deal, even though the country refuses to say so publicly.'
A spokesman for the White House National Security Council declined to comment on the claims. However, referring to the comments of administration officials to The Times of Israel, he said that an agreement has not been possible to date due to the lack of cooperation from Hamas.
A spokesman for Netanyahu responded similarly. He points the finger at Hamas and points to several claims by top Biden officials.
'Hamas was and remains the only obstacle to the deal,' the spokesman insisted.
Blinken said Qatar expelled the terror group's leaders late last month because of Hamas' instability.
But a third Arab diplomat rejected Washington's claim that Doha made the decision based solely on frustrations with Hamas. He emphasized that Israel was not less to blame for temporarily halting Qatar's mediation efforts.
The diplomat pointed to how Netanyahu added new conditions to Israel's previous hostage deal offer, after Hamas accepted Tel Aviv's key demands in early July, submitting them at a critical stage in the negotiations.
“Every time we get close to reaching an agreement, Netanyahu adds new conditions or makes public statements that undermine the importance of negotiations,” the Arab diplomat said.
Just as talks were about to take a critical turn last July, Hamas presented more than a dozen new demands, the Biden official noted, and most of those terms were “unacceptable.”
A third Arab diplomat cast doubt on the U.S. belief that expelling Hamas leaders from Qatar could prompt the terrorist group to show more flexibility in negotiations. He said, 'Now they have gone to Turkey and we are trying to negotiate with them from there.' The diplomat asked, 'What has been achieved in this?'
However, the Biden official supported the decision to ask for the expulsion of Hamas officials from Qatar. But he admitted, this step should have been taken earlier.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said last week that the US does not want Türkiye or any of its allies to host Hamas leaders. But Washington has not formally asked Ankara to hand over senior Hamas official Khaled Mashal. Khaled Mashal is accused in the United States.
