Hostage talks on hold until after Iran response, replacement of Haniyeh — officials
Hamas expected to harden stances, but mediators still plan to try and advance negotiations, which were on verge of breakthrough before assassination, two sources tell ToI
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
DOHA, Qatar — The negotiations between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire-hostage release deal are on hold and will not pick up until after Iran retaliates for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and until after the terror group selects a replacement for the slain politburo chief, two officials familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel Monday.
The Iranian response against Israel, which was allegedly behind Haniyeh’s killing, could happen as early as Monday night, while Hamas is expected to announce a new leader in the coming days, said two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Qatari, Egyptian, and US mediators will then be able to resume efforts to negotiate a deal, though they believe it will be much more difficult following Haniyeh’s assassination, the officials said, adding that Hamas has not shown any interest in returning to the table in the interim.
An Israeli negotiating team was in Cairo over the weekend, but that was largely for bilateral talks with Egypt over the IDF’s presence in the Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah Crossing, one of the officials said, noting that Hamas was not part of the discussions, even indirectly, and that no progress was made either.
Qatar also did not send representatives to the Saturday meeting in Cairo, as the focus was not on the hostage file, the officials said.
While the mediators sought to separate the IDF’s presence along the Egyptian border from the hostage talks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has included the issue among a series of new demands that the Israeli negotiating team formally presented on July 27, the officials said.
The new conditions brought the talks to another impasse just days after the mediators managed to convince Hamas to back off its main demand for an up-front Israeli commitment for a permanent ceasefire.
Netanyahu insists that he has not moved from the ceasefire proposal he authorized on May 27, though the text of the offer obtained by The Times of Israel indicates otherwise.
The premier’s stance has frustrated the Biden administration, as wellas the Israeli security establishment, which feels that the proposal Hamas had most recently agreed to should be accepted, one of the officials confirmed.
While the mediators viewed the latest Israeli response submitted in Rome on July 27 as a setback, follow-up meetings were still planned.
But the July 31 assassination of Haniyeh turned the impasse into a “full-blown crisis,” one of the officials said.
Hamas said it would hold internal deliberations to select an interim leader, with Haniyeh’s deputy Khalil Al-Hayya, his predecessor Khaled Mashal, and senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzook named as potential replacements.
