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Israel is attempting to undermine Egypt’s mediation efforts in hostage deal and ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, a Qatari newspaper reported Wednesday citing Egyptian sources.
The London-based daily Al-Araby Al-Jadeed cited the sources as saying that Israel is using the talks as cover to advance a plan for the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. “There are attempts to embarrass Cairo through an Israeli plan aimed at advancing the forced displacement agenda,” one of the sources said.
The report said all proposals presented by Egypt in recent days have failed, largely due to a lack of support from Washington. “The U.S. administration has refused to provide any guarantees about applying pressure on the Israeli prime minister,” a source said. One such proposal, which called for a humanitarian pause during the upcoming Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, was reportedly rejected by the American envoy.
The negotiations have been stalled since the conclusion of the first stage of a hostage deal nearly a month ago. In the absence of progress, fighting between Israel and Hamas has resumed. U.S. officials believe military action is justified due to Hamas' refusal to make concessions, but are urging Israel to limit its operations.
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“The war must be highly targeted, efficient and effective,” a U.S. official said. “We don’t have all the time in the world.”
Officials familiar with the discussions said the United States continues to support Israel’s operations in Gaza, though the backing is not open-ended. “There’s no point in dragging everyone into a meaningless round,” one source said. “Israel’s political leadership must admit that its leeway is very limited.”