Jihad Taha, the official spokesman for Hamas, claimed on Thursday that "the Israeli occupation government has placed obstacles at all stages of the negotiations (on a ceasefire agreement and exchange deal - security prisoners for hostages) and is adopting a policy of deliberate sabotage in order to thwart the efforts and activities intended to bring to end the aggression".
In a conversation with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper, Taha said that "the brothers in Qatar and Egypt understand this very well, and the latest evidence is the crime of the murder of the leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was a central pillar in the negotiations, and therefore the policy of disruption and sabotage, in particular in promoting the latest proposal into an agreement, is clear proof of the occupation's lack of seriousness in reaching an end to aggression."
In this context, the former assistant to the Egyptian foreign minister, Raha Ahmed Hassan, said that the elimination of Haniyeh in Tehran sends a message that Israel can go anywhere and eliminate anyone it chooses, thereby implying to the leadership of Hamas in Gaza that if it does not comply with Netanyahu's demands, it will bear the consequences of further killing and destruction.
The foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan blamed Israel for the "dangerous escalation" in the Middle East following the Israeli "aggression" in the Gaza Strip, the violations of international law, the "illegal" activity in Judea and Samaria and the policy of eliminations.