"I'm not going to go into specifics, but it was totally unacceptable," said Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump's Middle East envoy.
El White House envoy for Middle East, Steve Witkoff, stated this Sunday that the proposals he is offering Hamas to prolong the ceasefire in Gaza are “unacceptable” and warned the terrorist group that time is “running out” to reach an agreement with Israel.
Witkoff explained why he sees Hamas's proposals as unacceptable. This week, Hamas offered to release an Israeli-American hostage and return the bodies of four other captives. "I'm not going to go into specific details," he said. but it was totally unacceptable”, Witkoff noted.
The United States and Israel are demanding that Hamas immediately release approximately 17 live hostages and the remains of XNUMX others who were killed.
Israel, for its part, has warned on numerous occasions that it will not tolerate the terrorist group remaining in control of the Gaza Strip.Witkoff did not go that far in his comments to CNN But he did warn Hamas that its “demilitarization” represents a non-negotiable issue for Tel Aviv negotiators. “It’s a red line for the Israelis,” he said.
“I think they have a chance, but it’s fading fast.”, Trump's envoy added about Hamas's position before threatening to resume military operations following the example of the campaign the United States began Saturday in Yemen against the Houthis.
"What happened yesterday with the Houthis and our attack should indicate our position on terrorism and our tolerance for terrorist actions. And I encourage Hamas to be much more sensible.”, Dijo.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed on Sunday that a negotiating team is in Egypt to address the issue. Stop the fire and the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip.
“Under the leadership of the Prime Minister (Benjamin) NetanyahuRepresentatives of the negotiating team are currently meeting in Egypt with senior Egyptian officials and discussing the issue of the abductees,” the President’s office said in a statement today.
Last night, following a meeting of the Security Cabinet composed of ministers, the negotiating team, and the heads of the defense apparatus—and after indirect negotiations in Doha—Netanyahu announced in an initial statement that he had instructed the negotiating team to continue the talks.
As part of his efforts, Witkoff presented a new “bridge” proposal to mediators last week, which seeks to extend the first phase of the January agreement for 50 days, that is, beyond the initially reported 30 days for the period of Ramadan and Passover, during which the Palestinian terrorists would release five live hostages.
Among them should be, without any objection, the Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander.
Likewise, during this time, progress would be made with talks for a second phase, leading to lasting peace in the region.
"Through our Qatari and Egyptian partners, Hamas was told in no uncertain terms that this 'bridge' would have to be implemented soon and that Edan Alexander, an American and Israeli citizen, should be released immediately," Witkoff said when his proposal was made public.
The Palestinian terrorist group said it was willing to discuss the initiative and announced it would release Alexander and return the bodies of four other hostages with dual nationality as soon as possible, though it did not specify when or where it would do so.
(With information from Europe Press)
Source: INFOBAE