Israel denies ceasefire talks with Hamas

Israel has officially denied ongoing speculation that it is in secret negotiations with Hamas to bring about a lasting ceasefire deal.

In a statement issued late on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that: “There are no meetings with Hamas. There are no direct contacts, no contacts through other countries and no contacts through intermediaries.”

The denials appear to have been issued in response to comments made earlier in the day by a member of Turkey's Grand National Assembly, who is seen as close to Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

Yasin Aktay, an AK Party member, told Palestinian media that Turkey was expecting “a comprehensive agreement between Hamas and Israel".  

The deal will "solve the issues of the blockade, opening the [border] crossings and the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas,” Aktay told the Gaza-based al-Risala newspaper.

His statement followed on from a string of reports in recent weeks and months that claimed Israel was in talks with Hamas, which it considers a terrorist organisation. While there appeared to be little consensus about the extent of the talks – with some suggesting a deal could be seen soon and others saying it was still in the early stages – Israel had largely stayed tight-lipped about the allegations, leading some commentators to believe that a deal was in the pipeline.

The silence, however, seems to have seriously irked Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas who fears a deal will seriously undermine his authority and weaken his negotiating position, Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

According to the paper, Netanyahu decision to finally speak out after relations with Abbas continued to deteriorate further due to the speculation.

Speculation continues

An Egyptian security source also denied to the paper that authorities in Cairo – who have traditionally acted as mediators between the two sides - were in any way involved in fresh negotiations.

"As for the relations with Turkey - the agreement is still far off," Netanyahu's office said.

The source said that any future agreement in Gaza would have to be accepted by all Palestinian factions, including the PA.

“We cannot take part in a game in which a Palestinian faction conducts negotiations separately on the future of an area that is to be part of the Palestinian state to be established based on the ’67 borders,” the source told Haaretz.

However, speculation about a possible deal seems to be continuing as a source with knowledge of the situation telling Haaretz that “while there was no ceasefire talks as such, Israel was 'certainly checking the feasibility of the matter'."

Former Middle East Quartet representative Tony Blair, has reportedly spoken with Hamas about a possible deal, with the UN also trying to make overtures for a lasting peace deal, although it remains unclear whether or not they have made any headway since the February when the new UN representative Nikolay Mladenov took office.

Hamas and Israel agreed to a ceasefire last year in Cairo after a devastating 51-day war in which more than 2,200 Palestinians, mainly civilians, were killed. While there were widespread hopes that the deal would lead to a lasting agreement, there has thus far been little sign of change with the Israeli blockade, in place since 2007, still largely in place.