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Hamas Says Won’t Attend Ceasefire Talks with Israel

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike as internally displaced Palestinians sit next to their tents in Khan Younis camp, southern Gaza Strip, 13 August 2024. EPA/HAITHAM IMAD
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike as internally displaced Palestinians sit next to their tents in Khan Younis camp, southern Gaza Strip, 13 August 2024. EPA/HAITHAM IMAD
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Hamas Says Won’t Attend Ceasefire Talks with Israel

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike as internally displaced Palestinians sit next to their tents in Khan Younis camp, southern Gaza Strip, 13 August 2024. EPA/HAITHAM IMAD
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike as internally displaced Palestinians sit next to their tents in Khan Younis camp, southern Gaza Strip, 13 August 2024. EPA/HAITHAM IMAD

A Hamas representative in Lebanon said that a delegation from the Palestinian movement will not attend Thursday's attempt to restart ceasefire negotiations with Israel.

Ahmad Abdul Hadi, Hamas' representative in Lebanon, said Hamas has not received assurances that Israel would commit to negotiate on the basis of an earlier proposal dated July 2.

"We are not against the concept of negotiations and we were flexible in the previous rounds," he said in a statement to CBS News Tuesday. "But Netanyahu and his government rejected (the July 2nd proposal), put new conditions, they assassinated the head of our movement," referring to the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month. Haniyeh had been Hamas' lead negotiator in the talks to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

"Therefore, we won't participate" in the Aug. 15 talks, Abdul Hadi added, "and we will go back to square one."

Hamas said it is willing to meet with mediators after Thursday's talks in Qatar, if Israel gives what they call a "serious response," according to a diplomat briefed on the talks.

"We are serious on reaching an agreement as it is our responsibility towards our people to stop the massacres and the famine war the occupation is committing against our people," Abdul Hadi said.

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Türkiye, Iraq to Hold New Round of Security Talks in Ankara, Source Says 

Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (R) and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan give a joint statement to the media in Baghdad, Iraq, April 22, 2024. (Reuters)
Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (R) and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan give a joint statement to the media in Baghdad, Iraq, April 22, 2024. (Reuters)
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Türkiye, Iraq to Hold New Round of Security Talks in Ankara, Source Says 

Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (R) and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan give a joint statement to the media in Baghdad, Iraq, April 22, 2024. (Reuters)
Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (R) and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan give a joint statement to the media in Baghdad, Iraq, April 22, 2024. (Reuters)

Senior Turkish and Iraqi officials will hold high-level talks in Ankara on Thursday to develop cooperation on security issues, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Wednesday.

The neighbors have in recent years been at loggerheads over Ankara's cross-border military operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants based in northern Iraq's mountainous region.

Iraq has said the operations are a violation of its sovereignty, but Ankara says they are needed to protect itself.

Ties have improved since last year, when the two sides agreed to hold high-level talks on security matters, and after a visit in April by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Baghdad, where he said relations had entered a new phase.

Ankara and Baghdad have so far held three rounds of meetings as part of the dialogue mechanism, with Iraq deciding to label the PKK a "banned organization in Iraq" during the latest talks held in March -- a move welcomed by Türkiye.

The Turkish source said Thursday's encounter would mark the first meeting of a "Joint Planning Group", which was decided during Erdogan's trip and is headed by the respective foreign ministers.

Talks would also take place to put their cooperation within an institutional and sustainable framework, the source added, saying the delegations would discuss the implementation of 27 agreements signed during Erdogan's visit, and evaluate further joint initiatives.

On Monday, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler told Reuters that the recent steps taken by Türkiye and Iraq in terms of counter-terrorism marked a "turning point", adding the technical work on establishing a joint operations center for the region was ongoing.

Guler also said Türkiye’s cross-border operations in northern Iraq would continue until "the name of terror is wiped out from this region", adding that Ankara expected Baghdad to label the PKK a terrorist organization as soon as possible.

The PKK, which has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, is designated a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.