He return of Palestinians displaced by the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza It is the main obstacle to a truce in the Palestinian enclave, according to what Qatar, one of the countries mediating in the negotiations, stated this Wednesday.
“The return of the displaced to their homes, which the Israelis still do not accept, is the main point of blockage,” declared Qatari Prime Minister Mohamed ben Abdelrahman al Thani at a press conference in Doha.
The second difficulty concerns the number of Palestinian prisoners that Israel must release in exchange for kidnapped hostages by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on October 7, he added. However, the Qatari prime minister estimated that this issue “can be resolved.”
Makeshift tents for displaced Palestinians in front of the Shuhada al-Aqsa hospital in Deir el-Balah, Gaza.
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Qatar, the United States and Egypt have been trying for weeks to obtain a truce in the war in Gaza, besieged by Israel and on the verge of famine, and the release of Israeli hostages.
The mediators tried, without success, to agree on a ceasefire before the start of Ramadan (March 11). Both sides accuse each other of blocking negotiations.
“Unfortunately, the points we were stuck on when we negotiated in Paris in February are basically the same points we are stuck on today,” the Qatari prime minister said.
“We are doing everything we can to find solutions, we are doing everything we can to ensure that common ground is found,” he added.
The number of Palestinian prisoners that Israel must free in exchange for kidnapped hostages also divides the negotiations.
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Egyptian television channel Al Qahera announced on Sunday that negotiations were due to resume in Cairo that same day. Furthermore, on Tuesday, the office of Netanyahu indicated that a delegation of his had returned from a round of negotiations in Cairo, but a Hamas leader denied it.
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh alsoThis Wednesday he accused Israel of going around in the negotiations.
The points we were stuck on when we negotiated in Paris in February are basically the same
The war broke out on October 7, when Islamist commandos infiltrated from Gaza killed at least 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in southern Israel. The militants also took about 250 hostages, of whom about 130 remain in Gaza, including 34 who reportedly died, according to Israel.
In retaliation, Israel promised to “annihilate” Hamas and launched a military offensive in Gaza, which has so far left almost 33,000 dead, most of them civilians, according to the latest balance sheet from the Ministry of Health of the territory, governed by the Islamist movement since 2007.
AFP
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