The CIA director met with senior Qatari and Egyptian officials on Wednesday as the Biden administration launched a new push for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, but Israel and Hamas appeared to stay away from recent proposals to halt fighting.
U.S. Intelligence Director William J. Burns met with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian Intelligence Director Abbas Kamel in Doha, Qatar, according to a briefing on the matter. An official said. Anonymity is required to discuss private meetings.
Egypt and Qatar have been key mediators in talks between Israel and Hamas, who do not hold direct talks. By sending Mr. Burns, the Biden administration signaled that it remains heavily invested in brokering a ceasefire to end the bloodshed in Gaza and calm broader regional tensions.
The official said Qatar had received positive preliminary feedback from Hamas on the ceasefire proposal approved by President Biden last week, but was still waiting. Receive a formal response.
On Wednesday, Qatar’s prime minister and Prime Minister Kamel met with Hamas leaders to discuss the proposal, an official briefed on the meeting said.
Mr. Biden described the proposal as a new Israeli proposal that would begin with a six-week cessation of fighting and ultimately lead to a “permanent cessation of hostilities,” raising hopes that negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians would conclude after nearly eight months. Yes. War is finally imminent. But since the president made the proposal public, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly refused to end the war without first destroying Hamas’ rule and military capabilities.
A senior Hamas official on Wednesday reiterated the group’s position that it would not agree to any deal that does not stipulate a permanent ceasefire. Official Bassem Naim said it “makes no sense” for the group to negotiate while Israeli forces launch new attacks on Gaza and that Hamas would not accept a temporary ceasefire.
“Will the thirsty drink a little, and the hungry eat a little, and then in a month and a half we will be killed again?” he said
An official briefed on the Qatar meeting said recent comments by Prime Minister Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have led Hamas officials to question whether Israel wants a permanent halt to the fighting.
“We are awaiting a clear position from Israel on behalf of the entire government,” Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said Tuesday.
Amid public disagreement, Burns’ stay in Doha was not expected to bring much progress, said a person involved in the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity. Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza and the alleged mastermind of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on southern Israel, still needs to weigh the latest proposals, the person said.
White House Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk will also return to the region this week for meetings in Cairo, a U.S. official said.
U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Wednesday that Biden’s proposal is “still a live proposal,” even though Netanyahu has not publicly supported it and two of his ministers have said they would oppose any agreement. Hamas remains intact.
“Israel is a noisy democracy, so there’s a lot of talk and chatter,” Mr. Sullivan said in an interview on NBC’s “Today” show. “But the Israeli government has repeatedly reaffirmed to this day that the proposal is still under discussion and that it is now up to Hamas to accept it. And the world must urge Hamas to accept this.”
The first phase of Mr. Biden’s proposal calls for both sides to adhere to a six-week temporary ceasefire while continuing negotiations to reach a permanent truce. In a meeting with Israeli lawmakers on Monday, Netanyahu expressed openness to a 42-day halt in fighting that would include at least part of the first phase of a three-part plan outlined by Biden, according to attendees. debate.
Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan said at a news conference Tuesday that the most recently communicated position to Israel did not include a permanent cease-fire or a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, as Hamas has called for. . Israel is only interested in a temporary cease-fire to rescue the hostages and will resume the war, Mr. Hamdan said.
“We ask the mediators to state clearly their position on the Israeli occupation,” he said.
King Abdulrahim contributed to the report.
