Hamas and Israel accused each other on Monday of blocking indirect ceasefire talks in the Gaza Strip, where more than 20 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes on Tuesday, according to the local Civil Defense.
A Palestinian source close to the talks launched in Doha through foreign mediators blamed Israel’s insistence on a plan to withdraw Palestinian forces from the Gaza Strip, which Hamas strongly rejects.
Israeli authorities then accused the Palestinian movement of refusing to compromise and waging psychological warfare aimed at sabotaging the talks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reaffirmed his country’s goals in recent days, which are the release of hostages, the disarmament of Hamas and its expulsion from Gaza.
The talks in Doha face complex obstacles and difficulties, a Palestinian source told AFP, adding that Israel is sticking to its goal of maintaining Israeli forces on more than 40 percent of the land area of the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s goal is to force hundreds of thousands of displaced people into the southern Gaza Strip, in preparation for the forced displacement of the population to Egypt or other countries, a Palestinian source said.
