Israeli delegation landed in Doha to negotiate Gaza ceasefire
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The delegation reportedly comprises of Mossad head David Barnea, Israeli Security Agency chief Ronen Bar, captives exchange coordinator retired Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon, and Foreign Policy Adviser Ophir Falk.
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People visit the National Museum of Qatar in Doha, Qatar, Monday, April 22, 2019 (AP)
The Israeli delegation tasked with negotiating an exchange deal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip has arrived in Doha, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's adviser, Dmitri Gendelman, informed Sputnik on Thursday.
"The Israeli delegation has landed in Doha. The negotiations will start at 5 p.m. [14:00 GMT]. The talks are expected to take one day, but can continue for another day or two, if necessary," Gendelman said.
The delegation reportedly comprises of Mossad head David Barnea, Israeli Security Agency chief Ronen Bar, captives exchange coordinator retired Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon, and Foreign Policy Adviser Ophir Falk.
This comes a day after Netanyahu added further conditions to the agreement that have hampered mediated negotiations with the Palestinian Resistance for a ceasefire.
The Israeli negotiating team has been instructed to introduce clauses that restrict the release of Palestinian detainees, allow Israeli checkpoints in Gaza during truce periods, and maintain occupation of strategic areas like the Philadephi Axis and Rafah border crossing, as per a report from NBC news.
Hamas asserted that Netanyahu intentionally set new conditions to undermine the negotiation process.
Hamas Participation in Doha Talks Conditional on Israeli Agreement to July 2 Ceasefire Proposal
Moments ago, senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Al Mayadeen that Hamas' delegation will participate in the negotiations only if the mediators informed it that the Israeli occupation agreed on the July 2 proposal.
Hamdan added that the Palestinian movement issued a clear statement regarding the Doha talks and confirmed that the July 2 paper fully addressed all conditions for a ceasefire, which include the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian official affirmed that Hamas agreed to all positive points in the mediators' proposal, while the Israeli occupation persisted in perpetrating massacres.
Hamas is not willing to give the Israeli occupation more time to commit further massacres, he said, adding that the movement's primary goal is to halt the ongoing aggression on Gaza.
Read more: Netanyahu expands mandate for Gaza ceasefire negotiators: Reports
