O.Próximo.- Israel rejects a Hamas low-ball offer and demands the release of the hostages "in one fell swoop."

Netanyahu also insists on the immediate disarmament of the movement in the face of an Arab proposal for a phased demilitarization.

MADRID, 16 (EUROPA PRESS)

The Israeli government insisted this Sunday that Hamas must immediately release all hostages, living or dead, held by Palestinian militants, and demanded their immediate disarmament in a statement issued in response to a Times of Israel report that spoke of a certain relaxation of the Palestinian movement's conditions to end the conflict.

In a statement to national media, the Prime Minister's Office clarified that Israel "will accept a deal on the condition that all hostages be released at once and in accordance with our conditions for ending the war."

These conditions, the office adds, without budging an inch from its usual position, "include the disarmament of Hamas, the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, Israeli control of the Gaza perimeter, and the establishment of a government independent of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority that coexists in peace with Israel."

This statement comes after Arab mediation sources told the Times of Israel that Hamas negotiators in Cairo had declared their willingness to back down on the demands they made last month that led to the collapse of the hostage talks in Doha, Qatar.

Israeli media sources indicated that the Arab mediation suspects that Israel is using its demand for disarmament as a "poison pill" to disrupt the talks, given that Israel would continue its military operations in Gaza even if Hamas were to undertake immediate disarmament—something the group is not prepared to do under any circumstances—under the excuse that it would need to verify the situation on the ground.

Arab mediators prefer a gradual approach to addressing the Hamas weapons problem, similar to the system the Lebanese government is trying to establish with Hamas militias. According to these diplomatic sources, Arab countries are willing to contribute troops to this effort, provided it is at the invitation of the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian government in the West Bank.