Gaza Talks Face Fallout from Haddad Killing

An Egyptian source told Asharq Al-Awsat on Saturday that mediators were continuing their efforts to implement the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, and that contacts had not stopped in order to prevent any deliberate disruption of negotiations by Israel after its latest “unacceptable” escalation in the enclave. Sources from Hamas had earlier told Asharq Al-Awsat on Saturday that Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the commander-in-chief of the Qassam Brigades, the movement’s armed wing, had been killed in an Israeli strike that targeted him in Gaza City on Friday evening. They said the attack on a residential apartment in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City had targeted Haddad. Experts who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat said this “escalation” by Israel places mediators before a difficult task and limited scenarios. They said the “Gaza agreement” faces possible outcomes linked to a temporary halt in negotiations aimed at breaking the deadlock, or a complete obstruction of talks if Israel expands its escalation, intensifies assassinations and seizes more land in the enclave, potentially leading to a return to war, especially as the US position has not yet moved to deter Israel. New operation The assassination of Haddad came as Hamas was completing the election of its new political bureau chief. The operation also followed rounds of talks hosted by Cairo over several weeks, with the participation of the High Representative of the Board of Peace in the enclave, Nickolay Mladenov, who had asked the movement days before the operation to hand over its weapons after visiting Tel Aviv and meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Dr. Tarek Fahmy, a professor of political science specializing in Palestinian and Israeli affairs, said the assassination confirms Israel’s lack of commitment to agreements. He said Israel seeks to confuse Hamas’s internal scene as the movement prepares to carry out internal and external changes, and that the strike carries a message from Netanyahu to a politically troubled Israeli public, aimed at boosting his popularity and achieving electoral and political goals, before directly affecting the negotiations and their credibility. Palestinian political analyst Dr. Ayman al-Raqab said Netanyahu had carried out the operation to save himself electorally amid domestic setbacks, and to try to impose heavy pressure on Hamas amid US distraction and silence over what is happening in the enclave. Widening violations The targeting is not the only step Israel is pursuing amid US silence. The Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom reported on Wednesday that “the security zones in Gaza have been expanded by an additional 34 square kilometers, with the approval of the Board of Peace, after Hamas failed to implement commitments related to disarmament, and Israel now controls about 64 percent of the enclave’s area.” Fahmy said the latest operation leaves mediators facing limited scenarios. The first is continued Israeli escalation and further assassinations that could include members of Hamas’s political bureau abroad, or an expansion of control inside the enclave, along with the continuation of military action and the occupation of the entire Gaza Strip. He said the escalation would obstruct negotiations amid US silence, or lead to a temporary pause in talks without mediators halting their contacts, especially as the operation opens the way for the rise of more hardline leaders within Hamas. Raqab expected Hamas to show reservations about returning to negotiations for now, though he said this would be temporary, especially as the movement has no alternatives or ability to engage in a military confrontation. He said mediators face an extremely difficult task, but will continue trying to salvage what can be salvaged to return quickly to negotiations, with intensive contacts with Washington to intervene and curb Israel’s possible escalation.