Israel and Hamas Talks on Ceasefire Stalled – Latest Updates from Gaza

Feb 18, 2024 at 8:59 PM Update: 18 minutes ago

NU.nl regularly gives you an overview of the situation in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. This time: a ceasefire seems increasingly remote due to stalled talks between Israel and Hamas

Developments in Israel and the Palestinian Territories are following each other in rapid succession. We therefore regularly list recent events. Subscribe to the tag ‘Gaza conflict update’ to receive a notification when we post another overview like this.

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“Not promising,” Qatar’s prime minister said yesterday about talks between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The renewed negotiations took place last week in Cairo, with Egypt, the United States and Qatar as mediators. It appears that the sides cannot agree on humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip and the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinians in Israeli prisons.

And while US President Joe Biden calls for a pause in fighting, the US is likely to veto a UN Security Council vote on an Algerian ceasefire proposal next week. According to US UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the resolution would jeopardize the sensitive negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu continues to emphasize that an Israeli ground offensive in the southern city of Rafah near the Egyptian border is imminent. Not entering Rafah, he said, would be tantamount to “losing the war against Hamas.” More than a million displaced people have sought refuge in Rafah. And Egypt sees a ground offensive in the border city as a red line.

Israeli government agrees with official position against Palestinian state

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has often said that he is against a Palestinian state. But several Middle Eastern countries and the United States have recently floated ideas to transform the West Bank and Gaza Strip into a Palestinian state after the war.

In response, Netanyahu submitted a statement to the Israeli government opposing unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. The government unanimously agreed to this on Sunday.

The statement calls a Palestinian state a “huge reward of terror.” A Palestinian state can only be established in direct consultation with the parties involved, Israel says. If this does not happen, then it is only an obstacle to peace.

The Gaza Strip is now governed by Hamas, the West Bank by the Palestinian Authority (PA). According to the ideas, a reformed Palestinian Authority could govern both areas after the war, as an independent Palestinian state.

Palestinian Authority and Hamas to Moscow

Russia has invited Palestinian parties to a summit in Moscow on February 26, the (PA) Prime Minister said at the Munich Security Conference. Mohammad Shtayyeh said it is time for “unity of the Palestinians”.

Shtayyeh said the PA is ready to engage in talks with Hamas about the future of the Palestinian Territories. “We’ll see if Hamas shows up.” Shtayyeh did say that Hamas must meet certain conditions if it wants to be part of the Palestinian unity that should be the subject of the talks in Moscow.

Nasser Hospital Khan Younis is no longer functioning

In another southern city in the Gaza Strip, Khan Younis, the second largest hospital was occupied by Israeli soldiers for days. After an Israeli raid, the Nasser hospital has been “completely out of action”, the health ministry in the Gaza Strip says.

“There are only four teams of medical workers caring for the patients,” a spokesperson said. “The Nasser Hospital is the base of health care in the south of the Gaza Strip. Its deactivation is a death sentence for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.”

According to the health ministry, the hospital can no longer function due to a lack of fuel and the ongoing fighting around the hospital. The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) calls on Israel to allow WHO workers into the hospital to ensure the “critical medical” care of patients at Nasser Hospital.

Brazilian president calls Israel violence genocide, ambassador summoned

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Sunday that Israel is guilty of genocide against the Palestinians. At an African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, Lula compared the Israeli attack on Gaza to the Holocaust.

According to Lula, soldiers are not fighting soldiers in Gaza, but the well-equipped Israeli army is taking on women and children.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz writes on X that he has summoned the Brazilian ambassador for Monday. He calls Lula’s words “embarrassing and serious”.

Lula has condemned Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel as a terrorist attack, but has regularly been critical of Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip since then.

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2024-02-18 19:59:48
#Ceasefire #Gaza #Strip #increasingly #remote #War #Israel #Hamas