by Ronen Bergman, Julian E. Barnes, Farnaz Fassihi, Aaron Boxerman and Adam Rasgon New York Times, August 16 https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/16/world/middleeast/cease-fire-talks-doha-israel-hamas.html
High-level talks to halt the war in Gaza ended without an immediate breakthrough on Friday, but the United States, Egypt and Qatar said the negotiations would continue next week as mediators raced to secure a truce that they hope will avert a wider regional conflagration. . . . On Friday, Egypt, Qatar and the United States said in a joint statement that the mediators had presented Israel and Hamas with “a bridging proposal” consistent with the terms laid out by President Biden on May 31 and later endorsed by the U.N. Security Council. “This proposal builds on areas of agreement over the past week, and bridges remaining gaps in the manner that allows for a swift implementation of the deal,” the statement said. All three governments characterized the talks in Qatar as “serious, constructive and conducted in a positive atmosphere.” . . . In a statement on Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel continued to blame Hamas for blocking a deal. But he has also stiffened Israel’s terms for an agreement in recent weeks, including calling for Israeli troops to remain on the Gazan side of the territory’s border with Egypt to prevent Hamas from rearming itself. . . . Hamas officials, who have accused Mr. Netanyahu of bargaining in bad faith, did not participate directly in the talks in Doha. But two Hamas officials said on Friday that mediators had updated the group on the negotiations. The officials said, without elaborating, that the current proposal did not conform to terms the group had agreed to last month. Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas official, said in a televised interview that “none of the points of contention” had been resolved in Doha. “Israel either added new conditions, or asked for new wordings or complicated matters,” Mr. Hamad told Al Mayadeen, a Lebanese broadcaster seen as closely aligned with Iran and its allies. “There was no advancement.” . . . Next week, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken was expected to arrive in Israel for more diplomatic talks, including a meeting with Mr. Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister’s office said in a statement. Mr. Biden said in a statement on Friday that Mr. Blinken was traveling to the Middle East in part “to underscore that with the comprehensive cease-fire and hostage release deal now in sight, no one in the region should take actions to undermine this process.” # # # -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#31666): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/31666 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/107946385/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
