Hamas management stated Sunday that it’ll not attend cease-fire negotiations this week, insisting as an alternative that the U.S. and allies submit an motion plan to implement its cease-fire proposal agreed to final month.
The assertion from Hamas, acquired by The Associated Press, urges the U.S., Egypt and Qatar to indicate how they will implement final month’s proposal “as an alternative of going to extra rounds of negotiations or new proposals that present cowl for the occupation’s aggression.”
President Biden insisted earlier Sunday that the cease-fire proposal is “nonetheless viable” regardless of some pushback from Israeli leaders.
“The plan I put collectively endorsed by the G7, endorsed by the … U.N. Safety Council, et cetera, continues to be viable,” Biden stated in a “CBS Information Sunday Morning” interview. “And I’m working actually each single day to — and my entire staff, to see to it that it doesn’t escalate right into a regional warfare. However it simply can.”
Hamas leaders cited rising tensions within the area after Israel assassinated two high Hamas officers in Beirut and Tehran earlier this month. The group additionally famous that the Israeli navy has killed tons of of Palestinian civilians in airstrikes in current days.
Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Qatari chief Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani issued a joint statement final week urging Israel and Hamas to conform to a cease-fire and hostage-release deal at present on the desk.
“The time has come to conclude the cease-fire and hostages and detainees launch deal,” the leaders stated within the assertion final Thursday. “The three of us and our groups have labored tirelessly over many months to forge a framework settlement that’s now on the desk with solely the small print of implementation left to conclude.”
“There is no such thing as a additional time to waste nor excuses from any occasion for additional delay,” they added. “It’s time to launch the hostages, start the cease-fire, and implement this settlement.”
The proposed cease-fire talks had been scheduled to start Thursday, targeted on a “ultimate bridging proposal,” the three leaders stated.
U.S. officers have hinted for weeks that talks are approaching the ultimate levels, whereas some have admitted there are nonetheless key implementation particulars to be sorted out.
The deal for a cease-fire and the discharge of hostages would construct upon a proposal from Biden in Could, which might contain essentially the most susceptible hostages exchanged for Palestinian prisoners and a brief cease-fire. Israeli troops would even be required to withdraw from densely populated areas in Gaza.
Miranda Nazzaro contributed.
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