Gaza ceasefire talks bogged down, and the United Nations accused Israel of implementing "hunger tactics"

A new round of negotiations aimed at achieving a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Gaza Strip ended in Cairo, Egypt, a few days ago, and no progress was made. The Hamas delegation left Egypt on the 7th. United Nations officials accused Israel of implementing "hunger tactics" in the Gaza Strip and destroying the local food supply system.

The negotiations were fruitless

Reuters reported on the 7th, citing the statement of Hamas, that the delegation left Egypt the same day and would go to Qatar to report on the negotiations with Hamas leaders. Hamas will continue to promote consultations and efforts on topics such as "preventing (Israel) aggression and returning displaced persons to their homes".

According to several external reports, although this round of negotiations ended fruitlessly, Hamas and Israel will continue to communicate indirectly. Several senior American officials blamed Hamas for the failure of the two sides to reach a ceasefire agreement, saying that it was because the latter refused to release Israel's elderly and sick detainees.

Hamas responded that the United States and Israel are cooperative relations, and the American dialect confuses right and wrong. Israel has been obstructing the efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement. Israel did not attend this round of negotiations, allegedly because Hamas refused to provide a complete list of Israeli detainees who are still alive.

In this round of negotiations, neither Hamas nor Israel made concessions on key issues: Hamas said it would not release Israeli personnel until a long-term ceasefire agreement was reached; Israel insists that it will not end its military operations until Hamas is completely eliminated. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on the 7th that Israel will continue to advance its military operations in the Gaza Strip.

According to Egyptian security sources, the next round of negotiations is scheduled to start on the 10th of this month.

According to the Associated Press, the hopes held by the mediators for a ceasefire agreement between Palestine and Israel before Ramadan are unlikely to be realized.

"Hunger Tactics"

Michael Fahri, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, pointed out Israel's "hunger tactics" when attending a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, on the 7th, which led to serious damage to the food supply system in the Gaza Strip. Representatives from Egypt, Iraq and other countries at the meeting also accused Israel of causing the famine in the Gaza Strip to continue to worsen.

According to Fahri, Israel banned small fishing boats from the Gaza Strip and destroyed fishing boats, fishing houses and other facilities. Since the outbreak of this round of Palestinian Israeli conflict last October, about 80% of Gaza Strip's fisheries have been damaged. The ships in the main port of Gaza City, located in the northern Gaza Strip and close to the Mediterranean Sea, were all destroyed by the Israeli army.

Jamie McGodric, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said on the 6th that the hunger of the people in the Gaza Strip "has reached a catastrophic level".

Ila Zitlin, legal adviser of the Israeli Mission to the United Nations, argued that Fahri's accusations were "naked lies".

Adding fuel to the Israeli Palestinian situation, the High Planning Committee of the Israeli Civil Affairs Bureau approved the construction of 3426 new homes in Jewish settlements in the West Bank on the 6th. Palestinian Wafa News Agency reported on the 6th, citing Abu Rudena, spokesman of the Palestinian presidential palace, that the Palestinian side strongly condemned Israel's move and believed that it would not bring security to either side.

The issue of Jewish settlements is one of the main obstacles to the Palestinian Israeli peace talks. Israel occupied East Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank of the Jordan River in the Third Middle East War in 1967, and then began to build Jewish settlements in these areas. The Palestinian side insists that it refuses to resume peace talks unless Israel completely stops the construction of Jewish settlements.

Source: Xinhua News Agency | Author: Wang Yijun

Editor in charge: Trish