US mediates with Turkey to bring Hamas for Thursday peace talks

Tel Aviv, Aug 13 (IANS) The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken to the Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to bring the militant group Hamas to the negotiating table.

An indirect peace talks between Israel and Hamas is to be held at Doha, Qatar, on Thursday at the insistence of the US.

Qatar and Egypt will be part of the negotiations along with the US representatives.

Sources in Israel's Defence Ministry told IANS that Blinken made the call early Tuesday morning and informed the Turkish government of the importance of peace talks taking place.

It is to be noted that Turkey has an excellent rapport with the Hamas leadership and many of the senior leaders of the militant movement reside in Turkey.

After the murder of Hamas Political Bureau Head Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, the situation in the Middle East has become more tense, with certainty of an attack on Israel looming large, the US has taken the initiative for an indirect peace talks.

However, Hamas has on Sunday cast their apprehensions in attending the talks and informed the mediators to present a plan based on the previous negotiations instead of entering into a new round of talks.

Meanwhile, the US State Department Deputy Spokesperson, Vedant Patel told media persons on Monday that the US fully expects the talks to continue and was expecting a probable solution to the matter.

He also said that the US fully expect the talks to move ahead and that all the negotiating parties are back at the table to bring the deal to a conclusion.

The Deputy Spokesperson, however, did not elaborate on whether the talks would move forward without the participation of Hamas.

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