Can an agreement be reached in Gaza after the “withdrawal crisis”?
A suspension of the ceasefire negotiations in the Gaza Strip, which Cairo and Qatar were “temporarily”, after the uproar of American and Israeli withdrawals for consultation, after a response from “Hamas” to a proposal for the truce that sparked a wave of exchanging accusations of obstructing the conclusion of the agreement.
The scene of the “complex” negotiations, according to the description of the Egyptian and Qatari mediators, will return to the convening, according to the estimates of experts who spoke to “Al -Sharq Al -Awsat”, describing the withdrawals as “a negotiating tactic of joint pressure on (Hamas) that will not last long”, amid weightings to reach an agreement after understandings on contentious items.
Until Saturday, verbal battles and mutual accusations between Hamas, Washington and Israel continue after their sudden withdrawal from the negotiations that took place since July 6, with the aim of consulting.
“Hamas”, on Saturday, in a statement, quoted statements to the prominent leader, Izzat Al -Rashr, in which he counted the accusations of US President Donald Trump and his envoy Steve Whitkov, regarding the movement’s refusal to reach a ceasefire agreement, “it contradicts the evaluation of the intermediaries, and does not consistent with the course of the negotiating path.”
Al -Rashish spoke about that «the movement stressed in the recent response the necessity of clarity of the items and their fortification and ensuring the flow of aid and distributing them through the United Nations and its approved agencies without the intervention of the occupation, and was keen to reduce the depth of the buffer areas in Gaza in which the occupation remains during the period of 60 days and avoid the dense areas of the population to ensure that most of our people return to their places.
Al -Rashil called on the “American administration to stop absolving the occupation, and exercising a real role in pressuring the occupation government, to engage in seriousness in reaching an agreement.”
Likewise, the leader of the Hamas movement, Taher Al -Nono, in statements to the “French Press Agency”, on Saturday, counted the accusations of Trump and Wikkov of the movement “shocking to all, especially since it came amid a progress of some files”, calling on the American administration to stop biased against Israel, which he accused of “disrupting any agreement.” He stressed that “the movement is ready to continue negotiations and complete them seriously.”
This defensive path of the Palestinian movement came the day after the accusation of its political office member, Bassem Naim, and Witakouf, in Friday’s statements, of “violating the context in which the last round of negotiations took place.”
On Thursday, Witkeov announced, in a publication on «X», the Washington team was returning to hold consultations after Hamas responded, accusing it of being “unwilling to reach an agreement, and we will study alternative options”, shortly after the announcement of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, in a statement, that his negotiating team from Doha.
In statements, Netanyahu accused “Hamas” of obstructing the agreement, and said that Israel is studying “alternative” options to return the hostages, while Trump told reporters at the White House that the movement “did not want to reach an agreement, I think (its leaders) wanted to die, and this is very bad, the matter has reached a point where the task must end.”
Reuters promised these statements, “as if it was closing the door, at least in the short term, in front of the resumption of the ceasefire negotiations and the beginning of abandoning them.”
A member of the “Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs”, former assistant foreign minister, Ambassador Rakha Ahmed Hassan, believes that Trump’s threats and Wikkov do not carry political visions and offend the United States as a mediator, and are moving in the opposite direction, and will not last long in this way, stressing that Washington and Israel have no other way to restore hostages, except to return to negotiations and pass a new truce.
The Palestinian political analyst, Nizar Nazzal, suggests that these “sudden” withdrawals will not affect the path of negotiations, describing it as “a negotiating tactic by the Americans and Israelis to pressure (Hamas) to waive some of its demands that link it with guarantees to the end of the war.”
Nazzal believes that Trump and Wikkov’s statements do not mean the end of the negotiating path, stressing that the withdrawal maps will not disrupt the agreement, and it seems that they and the aid will be decided, adding: “But the crisis from the viewpoint of the Americans and the Israelis in the enthusiasm of (Hamas) asking realistic guarantees regarding the end of the war and demanding the removal of Palestinian prisoners with high rulings.”
Amid that controversy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Egypt and Qatar announced, on Friday, in a joint statement, that what happened “about the suspension of complex negotiations came to hold the consultations.” They emphasized that “the resumption of the dialogue will be again.” They pointed out that they are continuing “their relentless efforts in the mediation file in the Gaza Strip, in order to reach an agreement that puts an end to the war.”
On Friday, the “Cairo News” satellite channel quoted an Egyptian source, that extensive contacts took place between the Egyptian and Qatari mediators to consult regarding the latest developments in the negotiations that “will be resumed next week (the current) after studying (Hamas).”
While Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El -Sisi dealt on Saturday, during a telephone conversation with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, “Egypt’s intense mediation efforts to stop the shooting in the Gaza Strip, and the exchange of hostages and detainees, and the French President affirmed in this regard his country’s full support for Egyptian efforts,” according to a statement of the Egyptian presidency.
Hassan is likely to return negotiations soon with the participation of Washington and Israel, stressing that any differences that can be overcome if Washington pressed Israel and moved away from alignment with it, indicating that the date of concluding the truce depends on the fair positions of the Trump administration in accordance with the demands that the world demand to stop the war in Gaza.
According to Nazzal, Washington is aware of the importance of not proceeding with the course of withdrawal and colliding with countries with a weight in the region that want to end that war, stressing that the Egyptian-Qatari joint statement was evident on this point that the negotiations did not fail; But it is complicated and suspended for some time, and the coming days will be resumed, and this is a clear message and Washington will read well, and it will not go long on the comment course and will return, expecting “a truce with the beginnings of next month with the entry of the Knesset his vacation that allows Netanyahu to pass an agreement without the overthrow of his government.”
