Steve Witkoff, the United States special envoy for the Middle East, announced that he will leave Qatar and return to his country after receiving Hamas’ response to a ceasefire proposal in Gaza, aiming to end nearly 20 months of war with Israel.
The White House representative criticized the Palestinian militia and said there is “clearly” a “lack of willingness” to achieve a ceasefire in the enclave.
Witkoff described it as “shameful” that Hamas “acted so selfishly” during the negotiations. “We are determined to seek an end to this conflict and a lasting peace in Gaza,” added the U.S. special envoy.
What was Hamas’ response to the ceasefire plan?
According to The Times of Israel, the Palestinian militia had proposed exchanging 200 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences for ten hostages, which caused annoyance in the Israeli government.
Furthermore, there would also be frictions regarding the “buffer zone” between the conflicting parties. From the beginning, Hamas has demanded the withdrawal of the Israeli Army as part of the agreement and security guarantees to prevent the troops from resuming the offensive on the Palestinian enclave.
What was Israel’s response?
The office of the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced the return of its negotiating delegation from Qatar to carry out “additional consultations” after receiving Hamas’ response.
“We appreciate the efforts of the mediators, Qatar and Egypt, and the efforts of envoy Witkoff, to achieve progress in the negotiations,” the office stated in a brief statement, without providing further details.
Furthermore, during a ceremony, Netanyahu said that Israel will not give in within the framework of negotiations. “If Hamas interprets our willingness to reach an agreement as a weakness, as an opportunity to impose surrender conditions that will endanger Israel, they are very mistaken,” stated the Israeli Prime Minister.