PMO: Hamas is sabotaging hostage deal negotiations to pressure Israeli public

Israel has accepted the Qatari-proposed hostage deal, based on the Witkoff outline, while Hamas has rejected it, a senior official in the Prime Minister's office told reporters on Saturday. The official noted that negotiations in Doha regarding the hostage deal are ongoing, claiming that talks were also held during the Sabbath with the mediators, as well as Egypt and Qatar.

According to him, the Israeli team was sent to Doha based on the Qatari proposal, to which Israel agreed, and received the necessary mandate for the talks. "Hamas rejected the Qatari proposal, is creating obstacles, refuses to compromise, and accompanies the talks with psychological warfare aimed at sabotaging the negotiations," the senior official in the Prime Minister's Office claimed.

The senior official in Netanyahu's office noted that Israel "has shown willingness for flexibility in the negotiations, while Hamas remains steadfast in its refusal, holding positions that do not allow the mediators to advance an agreement." Earlier on Saturday, Palestinian officials told the BBC that hostage-ceasefire negotiations are on the verge of collapse. A Palestinian official claimed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had purposefully sent a delegation to Doha, Qatar, with no real decision-making authority on key points of contention in order to buy Israel time while he visited Washington. (Read More)