GAZA - A Hamas official announced on Wednesday that the movement will not participate in the upcoming ceasefire negotiations in Qatar.
Suhail Hindi, a member of Hamas's Political Bureau, stated at a press conference that the group "will not participate in the upcoming negotiations scheduled to resume on Thursday in the Qatari capital."
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Hindi clarified that Hamas had sought a clear commitment from Israel to adhere to the agreement made on July 2, which was based on a proposal from US President Joe Biden.
He added that Hamas is prepared to engage in the implementation mechanisms of the agreement should the commitment be made.
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The announcement by Hamas came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved sending a negotiating delegation to Qatar to discuss a ceasefire in Gaza, with full authority granted.
The meeting in Qatar is scheduled following an invitation from Egypt, Qatar, and the US to resume talks on Aug 14 or 15 in Cairo or Doha.
The discussions aim to resolve outstanding issues and address the humanitarian situation in Gaza, according to an Egyptian statement.
Previously, Hamas had requested that Egyptian, Qatari, and American mediators present a plan for implementing Biden's ceasefire proposal for Gaza.
"Going to new negotiations allows the occupation to impose new conditions and employ the maze of negotiation to conduct more massacres," senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.
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Hamas' absence from the talks does not eliminate chances of progress since its chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya is based in Doha and the group has open channels with Egypt and Qatar.
The US has said it expects indirect talks to go ahead as planned in Qatar's capital Doha on Thursday, and that a ceasefire agreement was still possible, while warning that progress was needed urgently to avert a wider war.
Axios reported that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed a trip to the Middle East that had been expected to begin on Tuesday. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that CIA Director Bill Burns and US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk will represent Washington at the talks on Thursday in Qatar.
With Reuters inputs
