Hamas: Israel sabotaged truce talks, ceasefire not extended

A spokesman for Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, warned Thursday of renewed fighting with Israel if talks in Cairo to extend a 72-truce in Gaza collapsed.

"We appeal to the Palestinian delegation to not accept a ceasefire, unless it satisfies the demands of our people," a spokesman using the nom-de-guerre Abu Obeida said in a televised address, adding that Hamas fighters were "ready to return to battle."

The three-day truce ending four weeks of bloodshed between Israel and Hamas is due to end at 0500 GMT Friday.

The sides have so far failed to negotiate an agreement to extend the truce, with the Palestinians accusing Israel of "procrastinating".

Abu Obeida said the main demand of Hamas was the opening of a sea port for the blockaded enclave.

"We will not agree to stop the battle without a real end to the (Israeli) aggression and a real lifting of the siege," he said.

"If there is an agreement, it will be possible to extend the truce, but if there is not, we will ask the delegation to withdraw from the talks."

Speaking from Cairo, senior Hamas political official and delegation member Ezzat al-Rishq, said: "The resistance in Gaza and the delegation in Cairo are in one trench."

Palestinians say Israel 'stalling' truce talks

Palestinian officials accused Israel on Thursday of stalling the truce talks.

"The Israeli delegation is proposing extending the ceasefire while refusing a number of the Palestinian demands," said a senior Palestinian official.

"If Israel continues its procrastination, we will not extend the ceasefire."

Hamas and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) officials have laid out a number of demands, starting with the lifting of Israel's eight-year blockade on Gaza.

They also want the crossings with Egypt and Israel reopened and the release of around 125 key prisoners held in Israeli jails.

Israel's negotiating team, which had earlier flown back for consultations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon, was returning to Cairo, an Israeli official told AFP, without saying what was discussed.

"We haven't been formally notified of Israel's response regarding the Palestinian demands but we have learned informally... that it wants to procrastinate and stall in the negotiations to avoid (giving us) the achievements of the ceasefire," another Palestinian official told AFP in Cairo.

Obama: open Gaza

US President Barack Obama upped the pressure on the talks by saying Gaza could not remain forever cut off by Israel's blockade which has been in place since 2006.

"Long-term, there has to be a recognition that Gaza cannot sustain itself permanently closed off from the world," he told a news conference in Washington, saying the Palestinians needed to see "some prospects for an opening of Gaza so that they do not feel walled off."

And London, Paris and Berlin tabled an initiative offering an outline for rebuilding Gaza while ensuring Israel's security concerns were properly addressed, a diplomatic source said.

The proposal aims to strengthen the hand of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and his Palestinian Authority.

It also envisages opening the Rafah border crossing with Egypt then eventually opening other crossings to Israel. It also refers to the opening of a commercial port in Gaza, the source said.

Egypt reportedly refused to back end to Gaza siege

Egypt is refusing to back a Palestinian call for the lifting of the blockade on Gaza, as part of a ceasefire agreement with Israel, according to sources quoted by the website Arabi21.com.

Unnamed sources told the website that Egyptians have not yet handed the Palestinian side the response of the Israelis.

Some analysts had expressed scepticism regarding the sustainability of a Hamas-Israel truce, as post-coup Egypt is not likely to push for terms that match those of the November 2012 ceasefire deal brokered by ousted president Mohamed Morsi.

The 2012 terms were seen as more favourable to Palestinians in Gaza, but current Egyptian president Abdelfatah Sisi - who is belligerent towards the Muslim Brotherhood and its Palestinian Hamas-branch - is not likely to assume a similar role today.

“[US president Barack] Obama has been very keen that the parties return to the 2012 ceasefire agreement where Egypt acted as a guarantor that Hamas would not fire rockets, but this has been absent this time which it makes things more difficult,” said Sara Hassan, programme manager for the Oxford Research Group’s Middle East programme.

Analysts say fundamental issues in Gaza would have to be addressed to ensure a sustainable peace settlement to the month-long crisis.

“Underlying issues have not changed at all in terms of long-term prospects for negotiating peace. Realistically, it is unlikely we will see a meaningful agreement,” said Elizabeth Ferris, co-director of the Brookings-LSE Project on internal displacement.  

Another major contentious issue in the talks, is the opening the Rafah border crossing – a sore point in Egyptian-Palestinians relations for many years.

The crossing, which is dedicated for the movement of persons, foodstuffs and medicine, was most of the time closed down by Egyptian authorities, especially in the last year when tensions soared between the Egyptian army-backed authorities and the Palestinian movement Hamas.

Gazans have always complained that the crossing closure makes their suffering – induced by Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip – even worse.

Netanyahu: 'nothing against' Gazans

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News on Thursday that Israel has "nothing against the people of Gaza" and wants to help them deal with the "tyranny" of Hamas rule.

"I'm not sure the battle is over," he told the cable network's 'Hannity' program.

"I think we've degraded their (Hamas) capabilities significantly," he said, adding there may still remain tunnels dug by Hamas under the Gaza-Israel border that have yet to be found.

"It really depends on whether they want to continue this battle. I think we have to find a peaceful solution, if we can," he added.

On the high number of Palestinian civilian casualties that has provoked international condemnation, Netanyahu described such deaths as inevitable in the heat of battle.

"Those casualties are cruel, but they're unintentional," he said.

"Israel acts that way. It attacks combatants and accidentally kills non-combatants."