Posted on 03/07/24
| News Source: Arutz-7
The leader of the Hamas terrorist organization, Ismail Haniyeh, accepted the proposed deal for a ceasefire in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages, but the organization's leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, rejected it, the Wall Street Journal reported.
According to the report, Hamas has walked away from the ceasefire talks in Egypt and demanded greater concessions from Israel.
Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar, has reportedly been willing to accept a six-week pause in the fighting in order to secure greater humanitarian aid and possibly use that time to secure a permanent ceasefire that would leave Hamas in power in Gaza.
Sinwar, who has been hiding in Gaza for months, believes that more concessions can be wrung out of Israel due to political divisions within the country. Both Arab and Israeli officials fear that he is deliberately undermining the negotiations.
The US has pushed strongly for a six-week ceasefire to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza and forestall an Israeli operation in Rafah, the last Hamas stronghold in Gaza, where the majority of the hostages are believed to be held.
Israel has demanded that Hamas provide lists of which hostages are still alive as part of the negotiations. Hamas has claimed that it does not have that information.