By Abdelraouf Arnaout
JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Friday rejected the recent statement by mediators, including the US, Qatar, and Egypt, which called for the resumption of negotiations next week regarding a cease-fire in Gaza.
In a statement, Smotrich said: "It is not yet time for a dangerous trap where ‘mediators’ dictate terms to us and impose a surrender agreement."
“The time has come to release the hostages, but it is not yet time to release those despicable people who killed Jews," said the extremist minister in reference to Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons.
“It is certainly not the time for a surrender deal that would halt the war before Hamas's destruction,” he added.
Smotrich also urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to "fall into this trap.”
Earlier Friday, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel will send its negotiation team on Aug. 15 to finalize the details of a hostage exchange agreement with Palestinian resistance factions in the Gaza Strip.
On Thursday evening, leaders from Egypt, Qatar, and the US called on Israel and Hamas to resume negotiations in Doha or Cairo on Wednesday or Thursday.
This call follows the assassination of Hamas’ political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which has negatively impacted the resumption of negotiations between the two sides.
For months, Egypt, Qatar, and the US have been leading indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, but no agreement has been reached due to Israel’s refusal to meet Hamas’ demands to end the war, withdraw troops from Gaza, and allow displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza.
Israel has continued a devastating military offensive in the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.
Nearly 39,700 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 91,700 injured, according to local health authorities.
Over 10 months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.
* Writing by Ikram Kouachi