Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has given the green light to a new round of talks in Doha and Cairo, with a view to a truce in Gaza, his office said on Friday, after negotiations appeared to be deadlocked.
“Benjamin Netanyahu met with the director of Mossad (Israeli foreign services) and the director of Shin bet (domestic intelligence), and approved a new round of negotiations in the coming days, in Doha and Cairo
,” said his office in a statement.
Negotiations
Since the adoption by the United Nations Security Council on Monday of a resolution demanding an “immediate ceasefire”, Israel and Hamas have been blaming each other for their inability to reach an agreement on a truce, after almost six months of war between the Israeli army and the Palestinian Islamist movement in the Gaza Strip. Qatar, the mediating country, indicated on Tuesday that negotiations between Hamas and Israel on a truce in Gaza and the release of hostages were continuing, but little information had since been communicated by the different parties. Netanyahu's office added that the prime minister spoke with Mossad chief David Barnea about the negotiations, but did not say whether Barnea would travel to Doha or Cairo for the talks.