Israel’s Mossad: Hamas not interested in reaching Gaza ceasefire deal

Author: Published: March 10, 2024

The Mossad charged that Hamas is seeking to escalate tensions ahead of Ramadan at the expense of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Updated: MARCH 9, 2024 20:40
YAHYA SINWAR, leader of Hamas in Gaza, attends a rally in Gaza City marking the terror organization's 35th anniversary last December. Sinwar has once again aimed the arrow at Israel's Achilles' heel, argues the writer. (photo credit: ATIA MOHAMMED/FLASH90)
YAHYA SINWAR, leader of Hamas in Gaza, attends a rally in Gaza City marking the terror organization’s 35th anniversary last December. Sinwar has once again aimed the arrow at Israel’s Achilles’ heel, argues the writer.
(photo credit: ATIA MOHAMMED/FLASH90)
Mossad chief David Barnea met his counterpart in the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) William Burns in a meeting on Friday evening, a statement by the Israeli spy agency via the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed.

Burns briefed Barnea on recent developments made in Cairo negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza as part of “ongoing efforts to retrieve the hostages,” the statement read.

Hamas does not appear to be interested in reaching a ceasefire deal ahead of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, the statement on behalf of the Mossad added.

Further, the statement charged that Hamas is seeking to escalate tensions across the region ahead of Ramadan at the expense of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

“[Israel] is in contact and cooperating with all mediators at all time, as part of continued attempts to reduce gaps in negotiations and bring about an agreement,” the statement read.”

Head of Mossad David Barnea attends the state ceremony marking 50 years since the Yom Kippur War, held at the military cemetery at Jerusalem's Mount Herzl, on September 26, 2023 (credit: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)Enlrage image
Head of Mossad David Barnea attends the state ceremony marking 50 years since the Yom Kippur War, held at the military cemetery at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl, on September 26, 2023 (credit: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Hamas is preventing an agreement on the hostage deal from happening, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on Saturday evening, further stating that Hamas is stealing aid and supplies from the hands of Gazan civilians.

Hostage talks expected to resume in Cairo next week

Hostage talks are expected to resume in Cairo next week, as Israel and Hamas remain deadlocked on the terms of a deal for a six-week pause to the Gaza war in exchange for the release of some 40 captives.

Hope for an agreement by the start of Ramadan on Sunday night appeared slim as Hamas’s delegation left Cairo on Thursday morning “for consultation with the leadership of the movement, with negotiations and efforts continuing to stop the aggression, return the displaced, and bring in relief aid to our people,” a statement from Hamas read.

Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.

WSJ: Qatar threatening to deport Hamas chiefs if they don’t agree to hostage truce deal

Author: Published: March 10, 2024
Today, 6:55 pm

 

Illustrative: This handout picture provided by the Iranian foreign ministry on February 13, 2024, shows Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh preparing to welcome the Iranian foreign minister in Doha. (Iranian Foreign Ministry/AFP)

Illustrative: This handout picture provided by the Iranian foreign ministry on February 13, 2024, shows Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh preparing to welcome the Iranian foreign minister in Doha. (Iranian Foreign Ministry/AFP)

Qatar is threatening to expel Hamas’s leaders from Qatar if they can’t convince them to agree to a hostage deal, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing an unnamed Hamas official and Egyptian official.

Qatar hosts Hamas’s political bureau, including its leader, Ismail Haniyeh.

Husam Badran, a senior official of the terror group based in Doha, denies the claim. He tells the WSJ that without a deal, violence will escalate during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, set to begin this week.

“We didn’t declare negotiations have been stopped. We are the party most keen to stop this war,” he says.

Badran says Hamas’s conditions for a hostage deal include a permanent ceasefire, a return of displaced civilians to northern Gaza, boosted humanitarian aid and for Israel to pull out their troops from the Strip.

Israel wants a more limited truce and has vowed that they will continue their offensive to eliminate the terror group and free all the hostages.

Badran blames Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a lack of a breakthrough in the talks, claiming he “refuses to deal with anything on the table.”

“Netanyahu is the most dangerous [person] for the stability of this region. He is the fire starter.”

Erdogan: ‘Netanyahu earned his place alongside Hitler and Stalin’

Author: Published: March 10, 2024

In another bout of fiery remarks, Turkish President Erdogan, who has refused to condemn Hamas’s October 7 attacks, compares Netanyahu to fascist leaders and Israel akin to a war criminal state.

By ANNA BARSKY
Updated: MARCH 9, 2024 21:14
Netanyahu and Erdogan (photo credit: REUTERS)
Netanyahu and Erdogan
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered another antisemitic speech, during which he compared Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fascist leaders on Saturday.

In the speech, Erdogan compared Netanyahu to historical fascist leaders, stating that “Netanyahu earned his place alongside Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin.”

The Turkish President also refused to condemn Hamas‘s actions on October 7 and even stood by the terrorist group in his rhetoric. Erdogan accused Israel of acting as “the Nazis of our time while committing humanitarian crimes in Gaza.” He refused to call Hamas a terrorist organization: “We cannot be coerced into designating Hamas as a terrorist organization. We communicate with them openly and stand behind them.”

Israeli response to Erdogan’s fiery rhetoric 

In response, Netanyahu said, “Israel observes the laws of war and will not be subject to moral preaching from Erdogan, who supports murderers and rapists of the Hamas terrorist organization, denies the Armenian genocide, massacres Kurds in his own country, and cracks down on regime opponents and journalists.”

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech during a protest against the recent killings of Palestinian protesters on the Gaza-Israel border and the U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem, in Istanbul, Turkey May 18, 2018. (credit: MURAD SEZER/REUTERS)Enlrage image
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech during a protest against the recent killings of Palestinian protesters on the Gaza-Israel border and the U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem, in Istanbul, Turkey May 18, 2018. (credit: MURAD SEZER/REUTERS)

National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz weighed in on this exchange, criticizing Erdogan for his support of Hamas. “Erdogan standing with Hamas makes him a supporter of crimes against humanity, and comparing the Prime Minister of Israel to dictators is the height of hypocrisy,” Gantz stated in a post to X.

“The fact that Erdogan believes that Hamas is not a terrorist organization explains his conduct towards his own citizens. Israel will continue to adhere to international law even in a war against those who have proven to have no humanity.”

 

 

In another statement supporting Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that “The murders and sex crimes of Hamas against Jews and the State of Israel makes it one of the greatest acts of oppression and antisemitism in history, and Turkey as the biggest supporter of terrorism in the world right after Iran. What a disgrace to the republic founded by the father of modern Turkey, Kemal Ataturk.”

 

 

This is not the first time since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war that Erdogan has attacked Israel. “Netanyahu has gone down in history as the butcher of Gaza, and we are preparing to prosecute him,” Erdogan has previously stated.

In another instance, the Turkish leader accused “Israel and other parties as being behind the terrorist organizations in northern Syria and Iraq. Israel would not have lasted three days without the support of Western countries. We are making preparations to declare Israel a war criminal in front of the world.”

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