Disagreement over Israel's future military presence in Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners is hindering a truce and hostage deal, sources familiar with the latest round of US-brokered talks, which ended last Sunday, told Reuters.
The sources, including two Hamas officials and three Western diplomats, told the British agency that the disagreement stemmed from demands made by Israel after Hamas accepted a version of a truce proposal presented by President Joe Biden in May.
All the sources said Hamas was particularly concerned about the latest demand that Israeli soldiers remain along the Netzarim Corridor, the east-west strip that Israel "cleared" during the current war and which prevents the free movement of Palestinians between north and south Gaza, as well as the narrow border strip. between Gaza and Egypt, known as the Philadelphia Corridor.
Israel's current control of the Philadelphia Corridor allows it to manage Gaza's border with Egypt, the only crossing point in the enclave that does not border Israel.
Hamas believes that Israel changed its conditions and parameters at the last minute, and fears that new demands could follow each concession, said one of the sources.
In a press release on Sunday, Hamas said the proposal that emerged from last week's talks was too similar to Benjamin Netanyahu's recent positions that set new terms. They urged negotiators to stick to the implementation of the July version of the framework agreement, rather than start new negotiations.
In a statement before the talks last Sunday, Netanyahu's office denied that new demands had been made, saying their position was based on a previous proposal.
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