• Both sides seek clarifications as indirect talks between Hamas, Tel Aviv kick off in Egypt
• Trump looking for swift resolution, but insiders say it may take days to iron out all the details
SHARAM EL SHEIKH / WASHINGTON: Two years since the events of Oct 7, 2023, delegations from Israel and Hamas began indirect negotiations in Egypt on Monday, which the US hopes will bring an end to the war in Gaza.
However, in a surprising turn of events, the White House on Monday appeared not to outright reject the prospect of recognising a Palestinian state in the future.
The talks between the two sides facing contentious issues, such as demands that Israel pull out of the enclave, and the disarming of Hamas.
Egyptian state TV reported that the talks had begun at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh.
“I am told that the first phase should be completed this week, and I am asking everyone to MOVE FAST,” Trump said in a social media post.
But both sides are seeking clarifications of crucial details, including over issues that have wrecked all previous attempts to end the war and could defy any quick resolution.
Though Trump says he wants a deal quickly, an official briefed on the negotiations, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he expected the round of talks kicking off on Monday would require at least a few days.
An official involved in ceasefire planning and a Palestinian source said Trump’s deadline to send all hostages back within 72 hours could be impossible to meet in the case of bodies of dead hostages, some of which would need to be located and recovered from burial sites scattered across the battlefield.
A Palestinian official close to the talks was sceptical about prospects of a breakthrough given deep mutual mistrust, saying Hamas and other Palestinian factions were worried that Israel might ditch negotiations once it recovered the hostages.
Negotiators from Hamas will seek clarity on the mechanism to achieve a swap of remaining prisoners — both alive and dead — for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, as well as an Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza and a ceasefire, according to a statement put out by the Islamist group late on Sunday.
A thorny issue is likely to be the Israeli demand, echoed in Trump’s plan, that Hamas disarm, a Hamas source told Reuters. The group has insisted it will not disarm unless Israel ends its occupation and a Palestinian state is created.
