Netanyahu halted Gaza truce talks over ‘delusional’ Hamas calls for

JERUSALEM: Israel has despatched negotiators for truce talks in Cairo as requested by US President Joe Biden however they didn’t return for additional talks as a result of Hamas’ calls for have been “delusional,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Saturday.
Netanyahu additionally stated Israel wouldn’t give in to “worldwide dictates” concerning a statehood settlement with the Palestinians, which he stated may solely be reached by means of direct negotiations with out preconditions.
The Egyptian and Qatari-mediated talks to attempt to attain a ceasefire in Gaza and safe the discharge of over 100 Israeli hostages being held within the Hamas-ruled territory have but to supply outcomes. A spherical of inconclusive talks in Cairo ended on Tuesday.
Requested throughout a press convention on Saturday why Israeli negotiators didn’t return for additional talks, Netanyahu stated: “We bought nothing apart from delusional calls for from Hamas.”
These calls for, he stated, included ending the warfare and leaving Hamas as it’s, releasing “1000’s of murderers” from Israeli jails, and even calls for concerning a flashpoint holy web site in Jerusalem often called the Temple Mount in Judaism and the Noble Sanctuary in Islam.
He stated Israeli representatives in Cairo “sat and listened and there was no change. I needed to say not a millimeter – however there was not a nanometer of change.”
Netanyahu stated there was no motive for them to return “till we see a change”.
Including stress on Netanyahu to succeed in a cope with Hamas, 1000’s of Israelis gathered outdoors the navy headquarters in Tel Aviv in help of the hostages nonetheless in Gaza. They held up pictures and indicators calling for his or her launch, together with one which learn: “Time is working out!”
Amongst them was Michael Levy, whose brother Or was taken hostage from an out of doors dance pageant close to the Gaza border within the Hamas assault on southern Israel on Oct. 7 which triggered the current warfare.
“We have now no time anymore. My brother,” he stated, pausing to look down at his shirt along with his brother’s image, “has misplaced his spouse, (she) was murdered on this horrible assault on October 7. He has a son, a 2-year-old son, who’s ready for him at house.”
The Hamas assault killed some 1,200 folks, largely civilians, based on Israeli tallies. The militants additionally seized 253 hostages, although greater than 100 of them have been freed in a short-lived November truce.
Israel’s air and floor offensive has since devastated a lot of Gaza, killing 28,775 folks, additionally largely civilians based on Palestinian well being authorities, and forcing almost all of its greater than 2 million inhabitants from their properties.
Concerning the attainable “unilateral recognition” of a Palestinian state, Netanyahu stated there couldn’t be a “greater prize for terrorism”.
“Israel underneath my management will proceed to strongly oppose the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state,” he stated. “An association may be reached solely by means of direct negotiations between the perimeters, with out preconditions.”
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh has blamed Israel for an absence of progress in attaining a ceasefire deal in Gaza, the group stated in a press release on Saturday.
Haniyeh stated Hamas wouldn’t settle for something lower than a whole cessation of hostilities, Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and “lifting of the unjust siege,” in addition to a launch of Palestinian prisoners serving lengthy sentences in Israeli jails.

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