GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War Day 646

Talks Are Fruitless

Hamas Says No

I for one am not surprised at all that Hamas rejected the offer on the table as we read in an article from The Jerusalem Post:

A senior official in the Prime Minister's Office stated in a message sent to reporters on Saturday that the negotiations in Doha regarding the hostage deal are ongoing, claiming that talks were also held during the Sabbath with the mediators, Egypt, and Qatar.

The source said that Israel sent their team based on the Qatar offer:

According to him, the Israeli team was sent to Doha based on the Qatari proposal, to which Israel agreed, and received the necessary mandate for the talks.

He made it clear that Hamas is the party sabotaging the talks:

"Hamas rejected the Qatari proposal, is creating obstacles, refuses to compromise, and accompanies the talks with psychological warfare aimed at sabotaging the negotiations," the senior official in the Prime Minister's Office claimed.

This official added that Israel’s willingness in the talks and Hamas is doing the exact opposite:

The senior official in Netanyahu's office noted that Israel "has shown willingness for flexibility in the negotiations, while Hamas remains steadfast in its refusal, holding positions that do not allow the mediators to advance an agreement."

What is the main wrench in the deal? In another article, this one from The Times Of Israel we see that it is mainly Hamas wanting the Israel Defense Force (IDF) to withdraw from Gaza for 60 days:

No significant progress has been made in the ongoing hostage negotiations in Doha since Wednesday, an Arab diplomat and a second source familiar with the negotiations told The Times of Israel on Friday, as Palestinian officials said the talks were on the verge of collapse.

While Israel agreed to ease some of its demands regarding the redeployment of its troops during the 60-day truce under discussion following US pressure, the new series of maps depicting the partial withdrawal of IDF troops was not sufficient to satisfy Hamas, the two sources said.

As I’ve reported before, the Israeli compromise still allows for strategic control of Gaza, something Hamas knows will lead to their destruction long term. It will allow for Gazans to be relocated to a humanitarian city where aid will be supplied by trusted organizations apart from Hamas control. The buffer zone Israel requests is another area of dispute:

Channel 12 reported that Hamas agreed to expand the buffer zone Israel wants to create along much of the Gaza perimeter from 700 meters to one kilometer. However, Israel is still demanding that it be expanded to as much as two kilometers.

Move On

The US realizes that the Hamas and Israel aren’t getting past the territory issues and wants Hamas to make progress on other concerns, something the terrorists won’t do:

Amid the apparent stalemate on the issue, the US is urging Hamas to move on to discuss other remaining issues — something the terror group has refused to do until disagreements regarding Israel’s partial withdrawal from Gaza are solved.

A Gazan official gives their side of the stalemate:

“The negotiations in Doha are facing a setback and complex difficulties due to Israel’s insistence, as of Friday, on presenting a map of withdrawal, which is actually a map of redeployment and repositioning of the Israeli army rather than a genuine withdrawal,” a Palestinian official told AFP on Saturday.

What Israel deems to be a legitimate compromise is seen quite differently by Hamas:

“Hamas’s delegation will not accept the Israeli maps… as they essentially legitimize the reoccupation of approximately half of the Gaza Strip and turn Gaza into isolated zones with no crossings or freedom of movement,” the source said.

You know that Israel struck a nerve with the terrorists as they blame them for the talks falling apart:

Palestinian officials told the BBC and AFP that negotiations in Doha between Israel and Hamas are on the verge of collapse and are being held up by Israel’s proposals to keep troops in the Strip. One Palestinian official told the BBC that Israel “bought time” with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington to meet US President Donald Trump, and that the decision to send a team to Qatar without a strong mandate was an act to deliberately stall the discussions. A Palestinian official told AFP that Israel was “stalling and obstructing the agreement to continue the war of extermination.”

Stalling? The masters of stalling are the ones accusing Israel of doing it, but I digress. One source notes the negotiators feel the US special envoy can change things:

Another said mediators had asked both sides to postpone the talks until the arrival of Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in Doha. It is unclear if or when that will happen.

If there is any progress it looks like it is on the release of more terrorists and aid distribution:

The second Palestinian source told AFP that “some progress” had been made in the latest talks on plans for releasing Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and getting more aid to Gaza.

I realize that Hamas would want the IDF to leave during any ceasefire because doing so allows them to survive longer. But they conveniently forget they started this war by brutally killing Israelis on October 7th of 2023 and kidnapping the very hostages they use as bargaining chips now. They want to postpone the eventual judgment for those actions as if they never happened. Israel said “never again” on that fateful day and they mean it this time. Israel simply won’t allow Hamas or its supporters to exist right on their doorstep again. That’s the plain reality. Both sides know it, too. The sooner all parties see this they will understand that diplomacy is fruitless. I pray that Trump will stop angling for a Nobel Peace prize and let Israel finish the job in Gaza. If he wants to continue to be blessed by God as seen in Genesis 12:3 he will do just that. As we pray for the peace of Jerusalem add that to your prayer list.