Netanyahu pulls negotiators from Qatar claiming talks hit ‘dead end’

by Nick Robertson - 12/02/23 2:39 PM ET

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks as he meets with President Joe Biden, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, in Tel Aviv. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pulled his country’s negotiators from Qatar, calling off hostage negotiation talks saying they had reached an “impasse” with Hamas.

Negotiations previously resulted in a weeklong cease-fire that freed over 100 Hamas-held hostages and 240 Palestinian prisoners. Fighting resumed in the conflict on Friday, but the Biden administration, Arab allies and some factions of the Israeli government pushed for a longer pause to continue hostage releases.

“Hamas did not fulfil its part of the agreement, which included the release of all children and women according to a list that was forwarded to Hamas and approved by it,” the Israeli prime minster’s office said in a statement.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel on Thursday and Friday, his third trip to the region since the start of the conflict in October.

He blamed Hamas for the cease-fire deal falling through, but also reiterated the need for the Israeli military to better consider Gaza civilians.

“The way Israel defends itself matters,” he said Thursday. “It’s imperative that Israel act in accordance with international humanitarian law and the laws of war, even when confronting a terrorist group that respects neither.”

“I saw the plans that Israel has in a multiplicity of ways to do everything possible to protect civilians, including making sure that they have the information they need and there are ways to accommodate them,” he continued Friday. “This is going to be very important going forward. It’s something we’re going to be looking at very closely.”

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U.S. pressure on Israel has increasingly been focused on what post-war Gaza will look like. While the U.S. has pushed for an independent Palestinian government, Israeli officials have implied that there may be some form of military control.

As fighting ramped up again Saturday, the Israeli military said it struck 400 targets in Gaza, including 50 in southern Gaza, where an estimated 2 million civilians shelter from the conflict.

Pressure has mounted on the Biden administration to back an indefinite cease-fire in the war, citing significant civilian casualty figures. Both the administration and the Israeli government have refused calls for a long-term pause.

The conflict has raged for nearly two months, killing over 13,000 Palestinians, including thousands of children, and about 1,200 Israelis.