By Nidal al-Mughrabi
CAIRO, Aug 18 (Reuters) – The Palestinian group Hamas said on Sunday that a new proposal meant to bridge the gaps between Israel and the Islamist armed group over a Gaza ceasefire were too close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent positions.
Hamas’ statement came only hours after U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Israel in a bid to secure a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, dimming hopes for an imminent breakthrough in negotiations.
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Hamas received the new proposal from mediators, Qatar, Egypt and the United States, following a two-day round of talks in Doha.
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It said that the new proposal was aligned with Netanyahu, who refuses to end the war and withdraw Israeli forces from Gaza, including from the border with Egypt, two conditions the group sees as the basis for any agreement.
“We hold Netanyahu fully responsible for thwarting the mediators’ efforts, delaying the agreement, and for the lives of his prisoners who are exposed to the same danger as our people due to his ongoing aggression and systematic targeting of all aspects of life in the Gaza Strip,” said Hamas.
“We call on the mediators to assume their responsibilities and compel the occupation to implement what was agreed upon,” Hamas said, adding that it was fully committed to the previous July proposal.
(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi, Jaidaa Taha and Ahmed Tolba; Editing by Maayan Lubell and Alex Richardson)
