The two-day summit for the release of hostages and the truce in Gaza concluded on Friday afternoon in DohaTalks will continue next week between the mediating countries, the US, Egypt and Qatar, and probably on Sunday, when the negotiating team from Israel arrives, a new summit in Cairo.
Immediately after the announcement of the closure of the meetings, President Joe Biden commented: “The ceasefire in Gaza has never been so close”. In a joint statement with Egypt and Qatar, the White House said that the Doha talks on Gaza were “serious and constructive,” conducted “in a positive atmosphere,” reiterating that “there is no more time to waste and no excuses on either side for further delays. It is time to release the hostages and in return the Palestinian detainees, begin the ceasefire and implement this agreement,” the official statement read.
Hamas’s position was immediate which rejected the results of the meetings in Doha because they are “not in line with the last proposal put forward in early July.” In another statement, senior Islamist group official Sami Abu Zuhri accused the Biden administration of trying to create a “false positive climate.” And according to him, “America has no real intention of stopping the war in Gaza and is only trying to buy time.”
Meanwhile, Washington announced that it had presented a new framework in the discussions, supported by Egypt and Qatar, to “fill the remaining gaps in the implementation of the agreement by Israel and Hamas. In this regard, the mediators reported that the US proposal “is based on areas of agreement reached last week in order to allow for rapid implementation of the plan.” In the afternoon, when the delegations were leaving Doha, Qatari Prime Minister Muhammad al Thani spoke again with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, as he had done yesterday evening, “agreeing to continue updating Tehran on the progress of the mediation,” and reiterating the request not to attack Israel, avoiding any escalation before the implementation of the agreement.
Iran and Hezbollah, after strong pressure from the US and its allies, have linked the success of the talks to the possibility of curbing the threatened attack in response to the killing of Shiite militia commander Fadi Shukr in Beirut and Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran..
In Israel, sources close to the dossier confirm that the talks were “positive”, while underlining that The main differences between Hamas and Jerusalem remain: first of all the question of the permanence of Israeli forces on the Philadelphia axis, on the border between the Strip and Egypt, on the return of displaced people to the north of Gaza along the Netzarim corridor, which the Israelis would like to keep under their control for fear that Hamas gunmen will regain control of the northern area of the enclave. The talks will resume before the end of next week, senior officials of the governments of the mediating countries will meet in Cairo to conclude the agreement on the conditions presented today: “The road is now open to achieve this result, to save human lives, bring relief to the residents of Gaza and to reduce regional tensions,” said the United States, Egypt and Qatar.
According to rumors, As for the United States, the mediators’ latest proposal will be presented in the form of a “take it or leave it”. In the meantime, it has been confirmed that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will arrive in the Middle East on Saturday evening. He will be in Israel on Sunday, where he is scheduled to meet with Benyamin Netanyahu on Monday. His visit had already been planned in recent days, but was postponed due to uncertainty over the nature of the attacks promised by Iran and Hezbollah. Despite the progress, at least apparent, the situation in the Middle East remains at high risk. So much so that Abu Mazen, despite having announced that he will go to Gaza, has asked that his entry – if it takes place – take place under the auspices of the United Nations.