Hamas doesn’t want a deal, Qatar asked them to leave Doha – Israel News
Hamas doesn’t want a hostage deal, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Brussels Wednesday, explaining that this is one of the reasons Qatar asked that the group leave Doha.
“We’ve been working, as you know, on trying to get an agreement on a hostage and ceasefire deal,” Blinken said on the 404th day that the hostages have been in captivity.
“Hamas, tragically, has demonstrated that it’s not going to engage on that despite the renewed efforts we’ve made in recent weeks,” Blinken stated.
“It’s one of the reasons why Qatar has told them to leave Doha,” he said, confirming that Qatar did indeed tell Hamas it had to leave its country.
Qatar had denied that it had issued such an order when it announced last Saturday that it had suspended its participation in the talks. It had blamed both Israel and Hamas for the absence of any progress, explaining that it would return to the talks only once Hamas and Israel showed they were serious about making a deal.
Qatar and Egypt had been the main mediators for a deal, with the help of the United States.
Hostages running out of time
He spoke as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad released a video Wednesday of Russian-Israel hostage Alexander Troufanov, warning he and other captives were running out of time.
Donald Trump’s re-election to the US Presidency last week has given the Biden administration only some three months to finalize a deal.
US President Joe Biden’s lame-duck status limits his ability to pressure Hamas into a deal.Biden discussed efforts toward a hostage deal with Israeli President Isaac Herzog when the two men met at the White House on Tuesday.
Blinken similarly spoke about the hostages during his conversation with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer on Monday.
In Brussels on Wednesday, Blinken said he continued to be startled by the global silence with regard to Hamas and the hostages.
“It’s extraordinary to me that from almost day one, there is no focus on Hamas and almost deafening silence around the world on Hamas. Hamas, he said, has “rejected engaging on the hostage/ceasefire proposals” including “smaller proposals that would have cost it nothing” and would have seen the release of “a small number of hostages” in exchange for “Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails.”On top of that, Blinken said, “A couple of weeks ago Israel said we will guarantee safe passage for every Hamas militant out of Gaza, just give us the hostages back. And they refused. Is anyone talking about that? The world has been silent on that, too.”
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