Netanyahu speech shows he doesn't want ceasefire deal: Hamas senior official
World
Hamas senior official Sami Abu Zuhri said Netanyahu's speech was full of lies.
CAIRO (Reuters) - Hamas senior official Sami Abu Zuhri said on Wednesday (Jul 24) that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech addressing the US Congress shows he does not want to conclude a ceasefire deal.
Netanyahu addressed the US Congress in a record fourth speech by a foreign leader to a joint meeting of the Senate and House of Representatives. He talked about the necessity of forging a security alliance in the Middle East to counter Iran.
"Netanyahu's speech was full of lies and it will not succeed in covering up for the failure and defeat in the face of the resistance to cover up for the crimes of the war of genocide his army is committing against the people of Gaza," Abu Zuhri said in an interview.
He added that any alliance with Israel from any party would be a "treason to the blood of martyrs".
Netanyahu also said that Israel does not seek to resettle Gaza and that after the war with Hamas militants, the enclave should be led by Palestinians who do not seek to destroy Israel.
The Palestinian president's spokesperson, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, said in response: "The Palestinian people ... are the only ones who decide who rule them".
"Our permanent stance is that the only solution to achieve security and stability is the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital," he added.
NEGOTIATIONS APPEAR TO BE IN CLOSING STAGES: US OFFICIAL
Negotiations on a ceasefire-for-hostages deal in the Gaza conflict appear to be in their closing stages and US President Joe Biden and Netanyahu will discuss remaining gaps on Thursday, a senior US official said on Wednesday.
The official, briefing reporters ahead of their talks, said the remaining obstacles are bridgeable and there will be more meetings aimed at reaching a deal between Israel and Hamas over the next week.
Months of stop-and-start talks have failed to produce a deal to gain release of some of the remaining hostages.
The senior US official said both Israel and Hamas still have some issues to resolve but that a deal is close in which a six-week ceasefire would take place in exchange for the release of women, elderly men and wounded hostages over a 42-day period.
"It's a very different negotiation now than just a month ago when we had some fundamentally unbridgeable issues," the official said.
Biden will hold talks with Netanyahu and then later in the day Vice President Kamala Harris will have a separate meeting with the Israeli leader.
Hamas-led fighters triggered the war on Oct 7 by storming into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 captives, according to Israeli tallies. Hamas and other militants are still holding 120 hostages; Israel believes around a third of them are dead.
More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since Oct 7, according to the Gaza health ministry.
