Netanyahu accuses Hamas of “rejecting everything altogether” of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza

The Israeli Prime Minister today accused him of “rejecting” everything proposed during the negotiations under the auspices of the international mediation to reach a truce in Gaza, in exchange for the release of hostages held in the Palestinian enclave. “Hamas rejected everything and when we try to find (common) ground on which to start negotiations, they deny (and say) that there is nothing to discuss. Well, I hope this changes because I want these hostages to be released,” Benjamin Netanyahu said at a press conference where he lowered the accusations that Israel’s insistence on maintaining control of a zone along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt prevents negotiations from bearing fruit. Israel will never withdraw its troops from the border zone between the southern Gaza Strip and Egypt until there is a guarantee that (the border zone) can never be used as a rescue plan for the Hamas Islamist movement, Benjamin Netanyahu stressed. “Until this happens, we are there,” he said at a press conference in Jerusalem.