Hamas has officially told Egypt that it rejects an Egyptian-proposed Gaza ceasefire, a spokesman for the Islamist group has said.
"The outcome of discussions within the internal institutions of the movement was to reject the proposal and therefore, Hamas informed Egypt last night it apologises for not accepting it," spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said on Wednesday.
http://www.theguardian.com/...
Last night Hamas officially rejected the Egyptian ceasefire initiative.
I am very disappointed, no, disgusted, and I think this was stupid and appalling and will lead to more deaths.
The initiative, in my opinion, was adequate, neither great nor terrible, and the killing could have stopped.
It didn't matter much to me that the process used by the Egyptians in its preparation was very questionable.
The killing has to stop.
Now there has to be another initiative.
I think that it will be a Turkish, or Turkish-Qatari, or Turkish-Qatari-Egyptian initiative and I believe it's preparation is already underway.
Hamas has better relations with the Turkish government than it has with the Egyptian government.
Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan is running for president, the election will be on August 10th, and he would be very happy to use a Gaza ceasefire in his campaign.
There have been small articles and news reports of intense diplomatic activity in Turkey since Monday.
I also think that the new initiative will be very similar to the Egyptian initiative but with one or two additions which will partially satisfy Hamas' demands.
A new initiative, hopefully, will be completed quickly and I also hope that in spite of the failure of the Egyptian initiative military activity in Gaza will gradually decrease while the new initiative is prepared.
I will monitor the Turkish media and update or write new diaries if there are any developments, but the Turkish government is holding its cards very close to its vest, which is another indication that something is happening. This government is not known for its quietness, just the opposite, especially during a political campaign.
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This article makes me wonder whether or not a new initiaitve which is acceptable to Hamas will be rejected by the Israeli government.
Netanyahu criticised by cabinet members over Gaza crisis
Binyamin Netanyahu's cabinet is in disarray as the Israeli prime minister comes under fire from several of his most senior ministers for his handling of the crisis in Gaza.
The storm of public criticism from within his own ranks led to the sacking on Tuesday night of the deputy defence minister, Danny Danon, a member of Netanyahu's Likud party.
Danon had told the media that Hamas had humiliated Israel by setting conditions for peace, after Netanyahu said he was willing to accept the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire. Hamas claimed that it had not been consulted over the ceasefire conditions and rejected it.
http://www.theguardian.com/...
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All of the politics, the ineptitude, the posturing, and the egos - on all sides - makes me sick.