BEIRUT: A senior Lebanon-based Hamas official said Wednesday that Israel’s response to the latest proposal from the Palestinian group for a six-week truce in Gaza was “generally negative,” as talks continued in Qatar.
Osama Hamdan told a news conference in Beirut that mediators had conveyed the Israeli position a day earlier, but it was “generally negative and does not respond to the aspirations of our people.”
He said the Israeli response “constitutes a step backwards” compared to previously communicated positions and “is likely to hamper negotiations, and could lead to an impasse.”
Last week, Hamas proposed a six-week truce and the release of about 42 hostages in exchange for 20 to 50 Palestinian prisoners per hostage.
Hamdan’s remarks came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Saudi Arabia as part of a regional tour to discuss efforts to secure a Gaza truce that includes a stop in Israel.
Global concern has mounted over the military conflict now in its sixth month, in which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas in response to its October 7 attack.
Just days ago, Hamdan had said Palestinian militants would accept a partial Israeli withdrawal before exchanging prisoners, easing previous demands for a complete pullout from Gaza.
Hamas says latest Israeli position on Gaza truce ‘generally negative’
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Hamas says latest Israeli position on Gaza truce ‘generally negative’
- Osama Hamdan told a news conference in Beirut that mediators had conveyed the Israeli position a day earlier
- It was “generally negative and does not respond to the aspirations of our people”
Morocco’s energy ministry puts gas pipeline project on hold
- The country’s natural gas demand is expected to rise to 8 billion cubic meters in 2027 from around 1 bcm currently, according to ministry estimates
RABAT: Morocco’s energy ministry said on Monday it has paused a tender launched last month for a gas pipeline project, without giving details on the reasons for the suspension.
The tender sought bids to build a pipeline linking a future gas terminal at the Nador West Med port on the Mediterranean to an existing pipeline that allows Morocco to import LNG through Spanish terminals and supply two power plants.
It also covered a section that would connect the existing pipeline to industrial zones on the Atlantic in Mohammedia and Kenitra.
“Due to new parameters and assumptions related to this project... the ministry of energy transition and sustainable development is postponing the receipt of applications and the opening of bids received as of today,” the ministry said in a statement.
Morocco is looking to expand its use of natural gas to diversify away from coal as it also accelerates its renewable energy plan, which aims for renewables to account for 52 percent of installed capacity by 2030, up from 45 percent now.
The country’s natural gas demand is expected to rise to 8 billion cubic meters in 2027 from around 1 bcm currently, according to ministry estimates.
