Hamas ‘does not want’ a hostage deal – Netanyahu

Israeli prime minister says Gaza terror group to blame for impasse in hostage deal talks, accusing Hamas of effectively blocking progress towards ceasefire deal.

By World Israel News Staff

The Hamas terror organization is not taking hostage deal and ceasefire talks in Doha, Qatar seriously and “does not want” to reach an agreement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday.

Speaking during the weekly government meeting, just hours before he was hospitalized at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center for the removal of his prostate, Netanyahu said Hamas was to blame for the recent deadlock in hostage deal talks.

Hamas “does not want there to be a deal,” Netanyahu said, according to a report by The Jerusalem Post.

Government ministers were updated during the weekly meeting on the status of efforts to reach a hostage deal with Hamas.

Following several weeks of optimistic reports regarding the prospects for a deal, particularly after President-elect Donald Trump’s November victory, ministers told the Post that now “the situation is less optimistic.”

Last week, Israel’s negotiating team left Qatar, returning home for consultations, amid reports that Hamas has reneged on its apparent willingness earlier this month to compromise on key issues.

Chief among the contested issues are Hamas’ demand that Israel withdraw from the Gaza Strip in the third and final phase of a ceasefire, including from strategic areas Israel has claimed are crucial to ensuring its post-war security, such as the Philadelphi Corridor and the Netzarim Corridor.

The two sides are also sharply divided over the release of high-profile terrorists jailed in Israel.

While Hamas is expected to secure the release of hundreds of terrorists in exchange for the freeing of Israeli hostages, it has yet to be decided which terrorists will be included in the list.

Hamas negotiators have demanded that prominent figures, including the terrorist mastermind Marwan Barghouti, who orchestrated suicide bombing attacks in Israel during the Second Intifada, be among those released – a demand Israel has hitherto vetoed.