(The Australian, 19/8/2024)
The last thing Netanyahu needs is a ceasefire – he would be out of a job and facing criminal charges – Mark
Hamas has rejected the latest ceasefire proposal discussed in Doha over the weekend, blaming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for “obstructing an agreement” for a truce and hostage exchange in Gaza.
The militant group said in a statement that Mr Netanyahu “sets new conditions and demands” to prolong the war in Gaza.
Mr Netanyahu was “fully responsible for thwarting the efforts of the mediators, obstructing an agreement, and (bears) full responsibility for the lives” of hostages in Gaza, the statement added.
The group released the statement as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on his ninth visit, in a bid to avert a wider regional conflagration.
Mr Blinken is set to travel on Tuesday to Cairo, where ceasefire talks will resume in the coming days.
Mr Netanyahu on Sunday reiterated that it was Palestinian Islamist group Hamas that must be pressured.
“Hamas, up to this moment, remains obstinate. It did not even send a representative to the talks in Doha. Therefore, the pressure should be directed at Hamas and (Yahya) Sinwar, not at the Israeli government,” Mr Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting, referring to the Hamas chief.
On Sunday, Hamas dismissed optimistic talk by US President Joe Biden that a Gaza truce was nearer after negotiations in the Gulf emirate of Qatar.
“To say that we are getting close to a deal is an illusion,” Hamas political bureau member Sami Abu Zuhri said.
“We are not facing a deal or real negotiations, but rather the imposing of American diktats.”
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