Chairman of Egyptian State Information Service Diaa Rashwan said Monday night that US President Donald Trump has given Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enough opportunities to release the hostages, and now time has run out. "I don't think President Trump has much patience to arrive in a region where a war is raging," Rashwan said.
Addressing the Gaza ceasefire talks in an interview with media close to the Cairo government, the senior Egyptian official said, "The Israeli side was careful this time to deliver its proposals, and I think this is related to its timing problem, which is connected to Trump's intention to visit the region next month."
He added, "It seems to me that Trump wants to come to the region when the war has already stopped, and Netanyahu is raising his demands to the maximum level, so that the demands cannot be met, but this is a negotiation tactic. Therefore, I think the new Israeli conditions express more of a crisis than a position of strength. The mediators are aware of these aspects. We are now in the real stages, and Trump knows the negotiations are difficult and that the Israeli side will raise its demands to a point that may seem illogical. However, with Egyptian and Qatari efforts, things will take a positive turn."
Rashwan also noted that Hamas is well aware of the time dimension. He estimated that Hamas' response to the Israeli proposal would come quickly. "Hamas only said it would respond. It knows very well the significance of time. I think the response to the Israeli proposal will be quick. There will be things the mediators can do, and their efforts have not ceased. Hamas was careful to publish a statement confirming this so as not to allow Netanyahu to explain to Trump that Hamas is dragging its feet in response and bears responsibility for not stopping the war."
Regarding the talks between the US and Iran, the senior Egyptian official said, "In the negotiations now with Iran, Trump is doing something no other American president has done before. The negotiation with Iran is almost direct, and it will resume. Trump wants to arrive in the region with calm. He wants to present himself that way despite having previously raised seemingly illogical proposals and made various threatening statements in earlier stages, but ultimately he seeks to avoid wars."
