Hamas leaders said Sunday they would not attend ceasefire talks this week, insisting instead that they submit a plan of action to implement a ceasefire proposal agreed to last month by the United States and its allies.
Hamas’ statement: Acquired by Associated PressIt called on the United States, Egypt and Qatar to demonstrate how they can implement last month’s proposals “instead of offering further negotiations and new proposals that serve as a cover for the occupying forces’ aggression.”
President Biden insisted early Sunday that the ceasefire proposal was “still viable,” despite pushback from Israeli leaders.
“The plan that I’ve put together, which has been approved by the G7, the U.N. Security Council and others, is still doable,” Biden said in an interview on CBS News’ “Sunday Morning.” “And I’m working literally every day with my whole team to make sure we don’t escalate into a regional war, but it could easily happen.”
Hamas leaders said tensions in the region had risen following Israel’s assassinations of two Hamas officials in Beirut and Tehran earlier this month, and the group said Israeli forces had killed hundreds of Palestinian civilians in airstrikes in recent days.
President Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Qatari leader Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani issued a joint statement last week calling on Israel and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire and hostage release agreement currently under negotiation.
“The time has come to conclude an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages and detainees,” the leaders said in a statement last Thursday. “The three of us and our teams have been working tirelessly for months to conclude a framework agreement. The agreement is now on the negotiating table, and all that remains is to finalize the implementation details.”
“We can no longer waste time and there is no excuse for any side to allow further delays,” they added. “The time has come to release the hostages, initiate a ceasefire and implement this agreement.”
Ceasefire talks are due to begin on Thursday and will focus on a “final bridge solution”, the three leaders said.
U.S. officials have been signaling for weeks that the talks are nearing the final stage, but some acknowledge that key implementation details need to be worked out.
The ceasefire and hostage release agreement would build on Biden’s May proposal to swap the most vulnerable hostages for Palestinian prisoners and implement a temporary ceasefire. It would also require Israeli forces to withdraw from densely populated areas of Gaza.
Miranda Nazzaro contributed.
