Spotlight on negotiations today, August 15, in Qatar. Hamas reiterated that it will not be in Doha for talks with Israelconducted with the mediation of the United States, Egypt and Qatar, on a ceasefire and the release of the hostages. Speaking to Sky Arabia, one of the movement’s leaders, Mahmoud Mardawi, said that Hamas does not intend to negotiate on what has already been agreed and that Israel must withdraw completely from the Gaza Strip. The talks in Qatar will also determine whether Iran will retaliate against Israel or not, according to several Iranian sources.
Hamas is losing faith in the ability of the United States to mediate and will participate in the Doha talks will only focus on implementing Joe Biden’s proposal presented in May and supported by the international community. “We informed the mediators,” Osama Hamdan, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, said in an interview with the AP that was reported by various media, “that each meeting should be based on discussion regarding the implementation of mechanisms and deadlines, rather than negotiating something new.” “Otherwise,” he warned, “Hamas sees no reason to participate.”
Netanyahu: OK to send delegation to Doha and mandate to negotiate
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved the departure of the delegation to Doha to participate in negotiations on the ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages and the mandate to negotiate, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
The statement from Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office did not specify who exactly would attend the talks. However, Channel 12 previously reported that the delegation would be led by Mossad chief David Barnea, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and IDF general Nitzan Alon. Army Radio reported that Netanyahu’s senior adviser Ophir Falk would also travel to Doha.
Lebanese official sources told Al Jazeera, according to Ynet website, that The summit that opens today in Doha will last two days.
US: “There is no more time to waste”
There White House considers “resumption of talks an important step. CIA Director Burns will participate”White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre explained to reporters.
During his visit to Beirut, on the eve of the expected resumption of negotiations for Gaza, US special envoy Amos Hochstein said the time has come for diplomatic solutions for Gaza and Lebanon. Hochstein met with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a close ally of Hezbollah, with whom he discussed the framework agreement on the table for the ceasefire in Gaza.
“He and I agree that there is no more time to waste and that there are no more valid excuses for either side to delay further,” Hochstein told reporters. “The agreement would also make a diplomatic solution possible here in Lebanon and prevent the outbreak of a wider conflict.”
Raid in southern Lebanon, victims
Another Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon has claimed lives, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said. An attack by “enemy Israel” on the southern town of Marjayoun killed two people and wounded four, the ministry said, stressing that the toll was provisional. Lebanon’s official national news agency said an “enemy drone targeted a car” in the town square, a usually crowded area.
Palestine will not accept Russia’s exclusion from the Middle East conflict resolution process under any circumstances. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told Tass after his meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia “has always sought and is seeking ways to a peaceful solution” and is working for “a just solution to the Middle East issue, in accordance with international law,” Abbas stressed.
“And let’s not forget its role in the ‘Middle East Quartet’,” the PA chairman added. “The United States has always wanted to exclude Russia from this process. Under no circumstances will we accept Russia’s exclusion from any platform for resolving the Middle East crisis, because it has a truly fair position on the Middle East issue based on international law,” Abbas said.
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