Middle East conflict - Netanyahu denies new terms for deal with Hamas
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected accusations of setting new conditions for hostage negotiations with Hamas. A letter from Netanyahu at the end of July did not contain additional demands and did not contradict the proposal from the end of May, his office said. Instead, Netanyahu accused the Islamist Hamas of pushing for changes to the May draft. The "New York Times" had recently reported on new demands from Israel.
U.S. President Joe Biden presented a draft deal at the end of May, initially proposing a full and unrestricted six-week ceasefire. During this period, a specific group of hostages would be released. In exchange, Palestinians imprisoned in Israel would be freed. In the next phase, fighting would be permanently halted, and remaining hostages would be released. In the final phase, the draft suggests the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
Another round of negotiations is scheduled for Thursday. Both the mediating parties, the U.S., Qatar, and Egypt, as well as Israel, have stated that their representatives will attend the negotiations in Doha or Cairo. Whether Hamas representatives will participate is still uncertain. These talks could be crucial for easing the explosive situation in the entire Middle East.
For days, a retaliatory strike by Iran and its allies against Israel has been feared, among other reasons, due to the killing of a Hamas leader in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
The ongoing dispute between Israel and Hamas, as depicted by Netanyahu, involves Hamas pushing for modifications to the May draft proposal for hostage negotiations. Despite recent reports suggesting new demands from Israel, Netanyahu's office maintains that the letter in July did not contain any additional conditions for the negotiations on the hostages.
