Posted on 08/31/24
| News Source: JPost
Hamas is attempting to pressure Israel to abandon its fundamental principles by warning that the Gaza hostage talks are close to collapse, Israeli sources said Saturday, after the security cabinet voted 8-1 to retain IDF forces in the Philadelphi Corridor in any agreement with the terror group.
They spoke up after the Lebanese-based website Al Mayadeen reported that the Gaza hostage and ceasefire talks “were near collapse.”
The report followed last week’s intense diplomatic push by the United States, which included a summit in Cairo and lower-level talks in Doha, to finalize a deal. Qatar and Egypt, with the help of the US, have been the main mediators in the negotiations.
Among the sticking points have been Hamas’s demand that Israel must withdraw from the critical buffer zone between Egypt and Gaza known as the Philadelphi Corridor and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence that the army must remain there.
Israeli sources said that the coverage in the Arab media following the vote was similar to past situations where Israel had stood firm on its principled points, including the debate over a permanent Gaza ceasefire.