[Breitbart] The Palestinian Hamas terrorist group has cut off negotiations with Israel, demanding a lull in fighting before any more talks. Israel, which is closing in on Hamas leaders in Gaza, refused that demand.
The Times of Israel reported:
A Hamas statement claims that it will not agree to free any more hostages or even negotiate over them until the end of fighting.
The stance, which has been trotted out by the terror group before, comes amid intense talks for a possible deal that would see hostages released in exchange for Palestinian inmates in Israeli prison. The group already claims it won’t accept a temporary truce.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel would continue the war to "eliminate" Hamas even if negotiations continued.
Pressure for talks rose last weekend, after the tragic deaths of three Israeli hostages who managed to escape their Hamas captors. Israeli soldiers mistook them from afar for terrorists.
Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another Iranian-backed group, sought to exploit the moment to press publicly for a permanent ceasefire as a condition of negotiations.
The Israeli public, however, remains committed to the fight, even though there is also support for talks to free the hostages.
Palestinian rocket attacks against Israel continue: a large salvo was fired from a Hamas-controlled area of central Gaza toward Tel Aviv and central Israel on Thursday, but caused no injuries. |