Washington: The sacred month of Ramadan in Gaza is now passing relatively peacefully, as Israeli attacks have ceased. The United States has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to not attack during the period. Despite the ceasefire, however, Hamas and the people of Gaza are still living with the threat of displacement. The slowdown in the release of Israeli hostages has also compounded Netanyahu’s fears. In these developments, leaders of Hamas engaged in a significant meeting with representatives of America in Doha, where the President of the U.S. had issued a forceful warning to the effect that if the hostages were not released, there would be dire implications.
The gathering, which was presided over by U.S. envoy Adam Boehler, was the first direct interaction between the U.S. and Hamas since 1997. Media reports indicate that the main agenda of the talks was the release of Israeli hostages. The U.S. government put pressure on Hamas, with the message that if they were interested in sustainable peace and a long-term ceasefire, they would have to speed up the release of the hostages. Not doing so, the U.S. threatened, would lead to severe consequences. Perhaps there are other hidden sides of the meeting that are not yet public, so consider the big picture.
One of the most pressing issues that could have come up during negotiations is the displacement of Gaza’s population. As indicated since the signing of the ceasefire, the U.S. and Israel have each reportedly proposed Gaza’s inhabitants for relocation to other Muslim states like Jordan or Saudi Arabia based on the general ruin in the region. Given the ongoing debate, we cannot rule out the possibility that Hamas representatives require U.S. guarantees against any plans for forced evacuations. The possibility may even exist, though the Hamas movement issued no formal notice on the matter.
In a report by Axios, the talks were mainly about the release of American hostages, although the larger issue of the release of all hostages was also discussed. The report added that White House representative Steve Witkoff was to travel to Doha to negotiate with Qatar’s Prime Minister. He, however, called off his trip as Hamas failed to make any progress.
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