The Hamas Militant Group Will Not Attend Negotiations In Doha Tomorrow

Illustration of the Hamas group. (Wikimedia Commons/Fars Media Corporation)

JAKARTA - A senior Hamas official has announced that the Palestinian militant group will not attend the Doha meeting, Qatar on Thursday to discuss a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, as well as an agreement on a prisoner swap.

It said the move was taken due to sabotage caused by the Zionist regime and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Gaza Strip.

Lebanese Al-Mayadeen TV on Wednesday quoted an unnamed senior Hamas official as saying the group's representatives would not participate in the Doha meeting on Thursday, as quoted by IRNA Aug. 14.

The official underlined that Hamas would not accept the start of new negotiations in Doha, without the compliance of other parties with the proposal submitted on July 2.

The official also pointed out that PM Netanyahu had set new requirements, which would disrupt negotiations.

"Hamas is committed to a proposal submitted on July 2, which is based on UN Security Council resolutions and Biden's speech, and the movement is ready to immediately start discussions on the mechanism for implementing it," senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.

"Towards new negotiations, it allows Israeli colonialists to impose new conditions and use negotiatinglains to carry out more massacres," he added.

It is known that Egypt, Qatar and the United States, as mediators of indirect talks between Hamas and the Israeli regime, recently issued a statement calling on both sides to continue ceasefire talks on August 15 in Doha or Cairo.