TALKING TO HAMAS
On Thursday, Gazans criticised Trump’s latest remarks, which followed his call last month for Palestinian residents of the tiny coastal enclave to be resettled elsewhere and for the territory to be developed as a “Middle East Riviera”.
“(Trump’s) work (should be) more to spread peace … by exchanging hostages between the two parties, and not to throw around threats, blame and intimidation at the people of the Gaza Strip, who are suffering … as a result of this war,” said Ahmed, a resident of Khan Younis in the Palestinian enclave.
Egyptian security officials told Reuters on Thursday that Egyptian and Qatari mediators attended talks between the Trump envoy and Hamas.
US hostage affairs envoy Adam Boehler has the authority to talk directly with Hamas, the White House said when asked about the discussions.
Boehler and Hamas officials met in Doha in recent weeks, two sources briefed on the negotiations said. It was not clear who represented Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Thursday it had nothing to add to a brief statement issued on Wednesday night that said Israel had “expressed to the United States its position regarding direct talks with Hamas”.
The two Egyptian security officials who spoke to Reuters said Hamas had insisted during the talks on sticking to the original phased ceasefire agreement.
Israel wants to prolong the ceasefire, securing the release of hostages but without reaching a final agreement with Hamas on ending the war. Hamas wants to move to the second stage of the ceasefire where the sides would hash out an end to the fighting.
Egypt, according to the two Egyptian sources, stressed the need to uphold the ceasefire agreement till the end of the war, saying this would facilitate implementation of a Cairo reconstruction plan for Gaza that Arab leaders endorsed at a summit on Tuesday.
The Egyptian sources said talks ended in a positive spirit, indicating the sides may soon move towards negotiating the second phase of the deal.
