Egypt and Qatar Threaten Hamas Leaders: The Wall Street Journal

Egypt and Qatar, at the directive of U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration, are exerting pressure on Hamas leaders to finalize a deal with Israel, sources have informed The Wall Street Journal. The movement's leaders have been threatened with arrest, asset freezes, sanctions, and expulsion from their refuge in Doha.

According to the newspaper, this has had the opposite effect than desired. Hamas leaders have declared that they will not agree to any deal that does not meet their conditions.

Earlier this week, a spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, Majid Al-Ansari, mentioned that Hamas had not responded to mediators' latest proposals for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and for the exchange of Palestinian prisoners for Israeli hostages.

In late May, President Joe Biden announced a new draft peace agreement. Initially, Hamas had a positive assessment of the initiative, but later, a member of the movement's political bureau, Usama Hamdan, stated that the proposal did not include the withdrawal of Israeli forces.