Hamas declared earlier in the week that it would not participate in this week’s negotiations due to demands from Israel that it deemed intolerable included in the alleged “bridge agreement” that mediators reached last week.
Despite their objections, Kirby said Hamas should be there on Friday. “Cairo is where we are. They are in Cairo. Hamas must take part, and we must get down to the specifics of securing these details. He said the discussions would go into the weekend.U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters during an off-camera briefing on Friday that the talks had been “constructive” and that all parties, including Hamas, needed to cooperate in order to move toward putting the proposed agreement into action.
Kirby said that the negotiations were still ongoing on Friday, with U.S. Middle East envoy Brett McGurk and CIA Director Bill Burns representing the United States.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced earlier on Friday that the nation was back in Cairo to continue efforts to salvage a cease-fire agreement. Negotiators from Egypt, Qatar, the United States, and Israel are present in the talks; Hamas is not.
Hamas declared earlier in the week that it would not participate in this week’s negotiations due to demands from Israel that it deemed intolerable included in the alleged “bridge agreement” that mediators reached last week.
Kirby stated on Friday that Hamas ought to be present in spite of their protests. “We’re in Cairo. They’re in Cairo. We need Hamas to participate, and we need to get down to the brass tacks of locking in these details.” He indicated the talks would continue through the weekend
