Israel says ‘date set’ for Rafah invasion amid ongoing Gaza ceasefire talks *Hamas says Israel is not acceding to demands of a military withdrawal and allowing Palestinians to re*turn home. Al Jazeera, April 9 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/9/israel-says-date-set-for-rafah-invasion-amid-ongoing-gaza-truce-talks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says a date has been set to invade Rafah in southern Gaza as truce talks with Hamas in Cairo are ongoing but do not appear close to the finish line. . . . This comes as Hamas was presented with a new proposal in ceasefire talks at the end of the weekend, but one that does not appear to be able to secure a deal. The Palestinian group confirmed in a statement that it is reviewing the proposal, but said Israel “has not responded to any of the demands of our people and our resistance”. Senior Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zahry told Al Jazeera that Netanyahu’s remarks “raise questions about the purpose of resuming negotiations”. “The success of any negotiations depends on ending the aggression,” said Zahry, adding that the group’s “demands are clear: an end to aggression against our people”. Israel has so far rejected Palestinian demands of an unrestricted return of hundreds of thousands of Gaza Palestinians to the enclave’s north, and the retreat of Israeli military ground forces from the strip. The Israeli military said it has withdrawn some of its ground forces from Gaza, but has kept the troops in charge of maintaining an east-west corridor that effectively cuts the enclave in half and prevents the return of Palestinians to the north. The United States continues to be publicly opposed to the idea of Israel’s invasion of Rafah as it has said there are no viable plans to evacuate the large number of civilians who are in the area. . . . Mahjoob Zweiri, director of the Gulf Studies Center at Qatar University, told Al Jazeera it has become apparent to Israel’s Western allies and even within the country that Netanyahu has no interest in reaching a deal “any time soon”. “He wants more time, he wants to go to Rafah, he wants to have something he has failed to achieve so far,” Zweiri said. “He and the right wing need individuals, they need names – they talk about [Hamas leaders Yahya] Sinwar and [Mohammed] Deif, and none of this has been achieved.” Zweiri said as long as this continues, the Israeli prime minister’s stance will remain the same out of “self-interest” to preserve his political future. “Everyone knows, but the issue is whether the international community accept this, will accept to see more killing and more destruction for someone who is irresponsible politically and immorally is waging war on civilians,” he added. # # # -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#29850): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/29850 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/105434395/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
