(TargetDailyNews.com) – A recent offensive by the Israeli military into Gaza City has threatened to reset peace talks and ceasefire negotiations “back to square one,” despite repeated announcements of “a breakthrough” from the Biden administration and a multi-phase plan to end the war and secure long-term peace.
Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh issued a statement to the press suggesting that the attack may have already reset their willingness to engage in ceasefire talks, blaming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “and his army” for the “collapse” of negotiations.
Netanyahu added fuel to the fire on Sunday, July 7th, stating that he would not order the military to stop fighting, even if there were a hostage deal worked out between the two sides. He also made claims about weapons being smuggled into Gaza from the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt.
The combined rhetoric and actions of the Israelis are destroying U.S. officials’ claims that there had been “a breakthrough” in months-long negotiations ongoing in Cairo between the two sides using meditators. Hamas suggested Netanyahu was impeding the process by adding new demands and asked mediators to do something about it. They suggested the Israelis were engaged in “manoeuvres [sic] and crimes.”
White House national security spokesman John Kirby attempted to smooth things over with the corporate press on Monday, July 8th. Kirby said that despite “some gaps” between the opposing sides in the conflict, he was confident there’s still “a shot here” to broker peace and a lasting agreement. He suggested the Biden administration wouldn’t have sent negotiators otherwise.
Kirby also told the press that CIA Director Bill Burns and another Middle East expert from the National Security Council were on their way to the region to meet with officials in Jordan, Israel, and Egypt. Kirby also said that the public propaganda from both sides doesn’t necessarily reflect the private negotiations and rhetoric unavailable for public scrutiny or comment.
Israel’s most recent demand is that any border deal must address the smuggling of weapons coming into Gaza from Egypt. It’s unclear whether the accusations have merit, but both sides and the U.S. have deployed teams to scrutinize Israel’s repeated claims of weapons being smuggled into Gaza. They seized the crossing on May 7th and it’s been controlled by the Israeli military since then.
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