Netanyahu rejects Hamas’ demands, but does not mind continuing negotiations (Reuters)

Internal pressure has increased on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a prisoner exchange agreement with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), and this coincided with the movement’s threat to withdraw from the negotiations unless urgent aid is brought into the northern Gaza Strip.

During the past few hours, Israel witnessed demonstrations by the families of Israeli detainees in Gaza, during which they demanded the head of the Israeli trade unions to announce a strike and paralyze the economy until a prisoner exchange agreement is reached.

The families urged the War Council to reach an immediate exchange deal that would guarantee the return of all detainees, and accused Netanyahu of ignoring the families and not listening to them, and affirmed their rejection of his decision to freeze the Cairo negotiations regarding reaching a prisoner exchange deal.

The American newspaper "The Washington Post" quoted an Israeli source as saying that Netanyahu's rejection of Hamas's demands does not mean that he prevents the negotiators from engaging in the talks and working behind the scenes to reach an exchange deal.

For its part, Israeli Army Radio quoted Education Minister Yoav Kish as saying that the failure of the delegation concerned with the prisoner exchange negotiations to travel to Cairo does not necessarily mean anything, adding that the negotiations are continuing.

Kish pointed out that as long as Hamas adheres to its demands, it is impossible to advance negotiations, referring to the movement’s demands to end the aggression and withdraw Israeli army soldiers from the Gaza Strip.

This week, negotiations took place in Cairo in which mediators from Egypt, the United States, and Qatar participated to reach a truce agreement and the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas threatens

Hamas threatened to suspend its participation in the negotiations unless urgent aid was brought into the northern Gaza Strip, as relief agencies warned of a looming famine.

A leading Hamas source told Agence France-Presse, "The movement intends to suspend negotiations until aid is brought into northern Gaza. Negotiations cannot be held while hunger is devouring the Palestinian people."

The head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, had previously held Israel responsible for the maneuvering and procrastination in the truce negotiations and prisoner exchange.

Haniyeh said that the movement dealt in a positive spirit and with high responsibility with the mediators in order to stop the aggression and end the unjust siege on the Gaza Strip, and stressed that the resistance will not accept anything less than a complete cessation of aggression, withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, lifting the unjust siege on it, and providing shelter for the displaced and homeless.

Haniyeh stressed that it is not possible to skip over achieving a prisoner exchange deal under which veteran prisoners and those with high sentences will be released.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has launched an aggression against the Gaza Strip that has left tens of thousands of civilians martyred and wounded - most of them children and women - in addition to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe and massive destruction.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies