The Hamas terrorist organization demanded that Israel agree to a 12-week ceasefire instead of six weeks during the hostage negotiations, CNN reported this morning (Sunday).
In the report, three sources familiar with the discussions were cited who said that Hamas forwarded the demand in question to mediators in its latest counter proposal on the issue. According to the sources, Israel strongly opposes the extension of the ceasefire.
A senior American administration official was quoted in the report as saying that Israel made it clear that it wants to maintain its right to dismantle the four remaining Hamas battalions in Rafah.
The source stated that Israel would not be able to carry out the move in Rafah if the first six-week ceasefire period spilled over into the next phase, in which, according to Hamas' proposal, "permanent silence" would apply.
The Saudi Asharq News channel reported that the Israeli delegation in Cairo demanded that Hamas release 33 living hostages alive in the first stage - as opposed to Hamas's proposal that the hostages would be released "alive or dead."
Hamas announced this morning that its delegation had returned to Doha, and blamed Israel for the lack of progress on the ceasefire talks: "The occupation raised objections on several key issues. We are sticking to the clauses we agreed to."
No comments:
Post a Comment