(Al Jazeera Media Network) Revived talks on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas appear to be making little progress, with the two sides showing few signs that they are ready to compromise on their demands.
Israeli objections to the return of displaced residents to their homes in Gaza is a key issue holding up the negotiations, Qatari officials said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Hamas said that it will not budge on its conditions to release captives it holds in the besieged and bombarded territory.
Alongside the United States and Egypt, Qatar has been running behind-the-scenes talks in a bid to secure a truce and the release of Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails after nearly six months of war.
“The return of the IDPs [internally displaced people] to their homes, which the Israelis didn’t agree to yet … is the main point we are stuck on,” Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani told a news conference in Doha.
Another outstanding issue is the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released by Israel in exchange for each hostage freed by Hamas, Sheikh Mohammed said, noting however that he believed this “can be bridged”.
However, Hamas’s senior political leader Ismail Haniyeh said on Wednesday that his movement will stick to its conditions for a ceasefire in Gaza. The Palestinian group insists that an Israeli military withdrawal must happen before it releases the remaining captives taken in its assault on southern Israel on October 7.
“We are committed to our demands: the permanent ceasefire, comprehensive and complete withdrawal of the enemy out of the Gaza Strip, the return of all displaced people to their homes, allowing all aid needed for our people in Gaza, rebuilding the Strip, lifting the blockade and achieving an honourable prisoner exchange deal,” Haniyeh said in a televised speech marking al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day.
Israel has said it is interested only in a temporary truce to free the captives, while Hamas has said it will let them go only as part of a deal to permanently end the war.
