Gaza talks stall – dispute over Israeli troop deduction

Location at a glance

Gaza talks stall – dispute over Israeli troop deduction

The efforts for a temporary ceasefire step on the spot. The time window threatens to close for the hostages in Hamas’ violence. In Gaza, dying continues unabated.

The indirect conversations between Israel and Hamas over a 60-day ceasefire in the Gaza war have stalled. Both sides are therefore responsible for the lack of progress. The aim of the talks in the Qatarian capital Doha is a ceasefire and the release of ten living hostages from the violence of Hamas and the handover of corpses of several kidnappers.

As the German Press Agency (dpa) learned from Hamas circles in Cairo, the extent of the Israeli troop deduction from Gaza is a central point of dispute during the break. The Israeli delegation in Doha put “new maps” on the table in this regard, said a Hamas representative. According to Israeli media reports, the Israeli leadership insists on leaving the military in a wide range in the south of the Gaza Strip.

Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz had only said at the beginning of the week that Israel in southern Gaza Strip – on the ruins of the border town of Rafah – wanted to build a “humanitarian city” for 600,000 Palestinians displaced. Critics speak of an internment camp that could be associated with a long -term forced deportation. Israel speaks of enabling Palestinians a “voluntary departure”.

For Hamas, remaining of Israeli troops in such a large area is unacceptable. In previous arms rest, Israel’s military had gradually withdrawn from all the population centers in the sealed -off coastal areas. It remained in an approximately one kilometer wide buffer zone along the borders of the Gaza Strip.

Hamas originally demanded that Israel also withdraw its troops to this stand during the new ceasefire. A Hamas representative told the dpa that his organization had proven “flexibility” in this issue and signaled willingness to accept a more extensive remaining of Israeli forces in Gaza – if not to the extent, as required by Israel.

In the late Saturday evening, indications that Israel could go to the intermediaries in Doha on Sunday. This was reported by the Israeli television broadcaster Channel 12, citing an official from another country, which was not mentioned by name. It was initially not clear whether the differences can be bridged during the negotiations. Diplomats from Qatar, Egypt and the USA act as an intermediary.

Israel had previously accused Hamas of “saboting” the talks in Doha through her “uncompromising attitude”, the Israeli newspaper “Jediot Achronot” quoted an Israeli official. “Israel showed willingness to flexibility, while the Hamas (…) persists in positions that do not allow the intermediaries to get an agreement,” the official said. The negotiations would continue, he added. It is currently not possible to review the information from both parties to the conflict.

Meanwhile, thousands of people demonstrate in Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities for the release of all hostages that Hamas captures in the Gaza Strip. “The time window to bring all 50 hostages, the living and the dead home is now open – but not for long,” said Eli Scharabi as a speaker at the central rally in Tel Aviv according to a report by the newspaper “Haaretz”.