Hamas has turned down Israel’s latest counterproposal from earlier this week, a diplomat familiar with the discussions said.
“They refused and asserted it doesn’t include any reply to their asks,” the diplomat said. Hamas believes “that Israeli proposal includes nothing new so they see no need to change their proposal,” the official added.
Earlier this week an Israeli proposal had been sent to Hamas which the diplomat said did not accept two key Hamas demands: that there be unrestricted return of Gazans to the north and the pullback of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops.
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan on Thursday said their position has not changed since delivering these two key demands to mediators on March 14. Hamdan said the last round of talks held in Egypt this week have not yielded “any progress."
The diplomat says Israel continued to insist that inspections of those moving north be allowed and that the IDF not redeploy away from central Gaza.
CIA Director William Burns, Israel’s Mossad Director David Barnea and Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar will meet in Egypt this weekend to continue ceasefire talks, according to a source familiar with the talks and an Israeli government official source. Barnea, Bar and Burns met last month in Doha for talks with mediators, but no clear breakthrough was reached.
Hamas and Israel have for months failed to agree over a three-phased framework seeking the release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for a six-week ceasefire, the release of Palestinian prisoners and an increase in humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Mostafa Salem contributed reporting to this post.