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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish DEM party Monday to discuss the next steps after PKK militants agreed to end their decades-long insurgency.DEM, Turkey’s third-biggest party, has played a key role in facilitating an emerging peace deal between the government and jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan, whose Kurdish militant group is expected to begin laying down its weapons later this week.The meeting, which lasted just over an hour, brought together Erdogan, Efkan Ala, a senior figure in his ruling AKP, and spy chief Ibrahim Kalin with DEM lawmakers Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar.”Our delegation conveyed their views and suggestions on the new stage the process has reached and what to do next,” the DEM lawmakers said in a brief statement after the talks.DEM lawmaker Buldan called the meeting “historic”.”The process is now entering a new phase in which consultations are needed,” she told reporters before the meeting, saying it was “important to consult to take the necessary steps”.Fellow DEM lawmaker Mithat Sancar said the new phase was “very important” and that they would “consult with the president and his delegation about the characteristics of this new phase and the upcoming requirements”.On Sunday, the pair said they held a “very productive” meeting with Ocalan on Imrali prison island. The jailed 76-year-old PKK founder also characterised the upcoming talks with Erdogan as “historic”.DEM has submitted a proposal to set up a parliamentary commission, which Ocalan said would “play a major role” in directing the peace process. DEM told AFP the commission  would likely be set up by mid-July. The meeting came as the PKK was to hold a ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan to start destroying a first tranche of weapons — which will likely take place on or around July 10-12.Ahead of the ceremony, spy chief Kalin was due to travel to Baghdad on Tuesday for high-level talks on the logistics of the disarmament process, the Hurriyet daily reported. Afterwards, Kalin would meet with the parliamentary speaker Numan Kurtulmus to discuss setting up the commission, it said.The disarmament process is expected to unfold over the coming months.

Israel and Hamas were due to resume indirect talks in Qatar on Monday, according to a Palestinian official, ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting in Washington with President Donald Trump, who is pushing for a deal.The latest round of negotiations on the war in Gaza began on Sunday in Doha, aiming to broker a ceasefire and reach an agreement on the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.A Palestinian official familiar with the negotiations told AFP indirect talks were due to resume Monday between Hamas and Israeli delegations.As of 1230 GMT there was no confirmation the talks had begun, however.Speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, the official said the delegations had exchanged views on Sunday via mediators, with representatives of the two sides seated in different rooms in the same building.Ahead of Netanyahu’s third visit since Trump’s return to office this year, the US president said there was a “good chance we have a deal with Hamas… during the coming week”.”We’ve gotten a lot of the hostages out, but pertaining to the remaining hostages, quite a few of them will be coming out,” he told journalists.Netanyahu, speaking before heading to Washington, said his meeting with Trump could “definitely help advance this” deal.The US president is pushing for a truce in the Gaza Strip, reeling from a humanitarian crisis after nearly two years of war.Netanyahu said he dispatched the team to the Qatari capital with “clear instructions” to reach an agreement “under the conditions that we have agreed to”.He previously said Hamas’s response to a draft US-backed ceasefire proposal, conveyed through Qatari and Egyptian mediators, contained “unacceptable” demands.- ‘Important mission’ -Two Palestinian sources close to the discussions had earlier told AFP the proposal included a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and several bodies in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel.However, they said, the group was also demanding certain conditions for Israel’s withdrawal, guarantees against a resumption of fighting during negotiations, and the return of the UN-led aid distribution system.Netanyahu has an “important mission” in Washington, “advancing a deal to bring all our hostages home”, said Israeli President Isaac Herzog.Trump is not scheduled to meet the Israeli premier until 2230 GMT Monday, the White House said, without the usual presence of journalists.Of the 251 hostages taken by Palestinian militants during the 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.Since Hamas’s October 2023 attack sparked the massive Israeli offensive, mediators have brokered two temporary halts in the fighting. They have seen hostages freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody.Recent efforts to broker a new truce have repeatedly failed, with the primary point of contention being Israel’s rejection of Hamas’s demand for a lasting ceasefire.- ‘Can’t take this anymore’ -In Gaza, the territory’s civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 12 people on Monday, including six in a clinic housing people displaced by the war.Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency.The Israeli military did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.Salman Qudum, who told AFP he had survived the attack on the clinic in Gaza City, said: “We don’t know where to go or what to do.”Qudum said the negotiators and mediators in Doha must “apply pressure” to secure a ceasefire “because the people can’t take this anymore”.In a statement on Monday, the military said it had struck “dozens of terrorists, weapons depots, observation posts, military buildings and other terror infrastructures” across Gaza over the past 24 hours.The war has created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people in the Gaza Strip.A US- and Israel-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), took the lead in food distribution in the territory in late May, when Israel partially lifted a more than two-month blockade on aid deliveries.But its operations have had a chaotic rollout, with repeated reports of aid seekers killed near its facilities while awaiting rations.Hamas’s October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 57,523 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.burs/ser/

Hamas and Israel were resuming talks in Qatar on Monday, a Palestinian official said, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu travelled to Washington to meet President Donald Trump, who has pushed for a “deal this week” between the foes.The latest round of negotiations on the war in Gaza began on Sunday in Doha, aiming to broker a ceasefire and reach an agreement on the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.”Indirect negotiations are scheduled to take place before noon today in Doha between the Hamas and Israeli delegations to continue discussions” on the proposal, a Palestinian official familiar with the negotiations told AFP.Ahead of Netanyahu’s third visit since Trump’s return to office this year, the US president said there was a “good chance” of reaching an agreement.”We’ve gotten a lot of the hostages out, but pertaining to the remaining hostages, quite a few of them will be coming out,” he told journalists.Netanyahu, speaking before heading to Washington, said his meeting with Trump could “definitely help advance this” deal.The US president is pushing for a truce in the Gaza Strip, plunged into a humanitarian crisis after nearly two years of war.Netanyahu said he dispatched the team to Doha with “clear instructions” to reach an agreement “under the conditions that we have agreed to”.He previously said Hamas’s response to a draft US-backed ceasefire proposal, conveyed through Qatari and Egyptian mediators, contained “unacceptable” demands.- ‘Important mission’ -Two Palestinian sources close to the discussions had earlier told AFP the proposal included a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and several bodies in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel.However, they said, the group was also demanding certain conditions for Israel’s withdrawal, guarantees against a resumption of fighting during negotiations, and the return of the UN-led aid distribution system.Netanyahu has an “important mission” in Washington, “advancing a deal to bring all our hostages home”, said Israeli President Isaac Herzog.Trump is not scheduled to meet the Israeli premier until 6:30 pm (2230 GMT) Monday, the White House said, without the usual presence of journalists.Of the 251 hostages taken by Palestinian militants during the 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.Since Hamas’s October 2023 attack sparked the massive Israeli offensive in Gaza, mediators have brokered two temporary halts in the fighting. They have seen hostages freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody.Recent efforts to broker a new truce have repeatedly failed, with the primary point of contention being Israel’s rejection of Hamas’s demand for a lasting ceasefire.- ‘Enough blood’ -In Gaza, the territory’s civil defence agency reported 12 people killed in gunfire or strikes on Monday. AFP has contacted the Israeli military for comment.”We are losing young people, families and children every day, and this must stop now,” Gaza resident Osama al-Hanawi told AFP.”Enough blood has been shed.”Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency.- Hundreds killed seeking aid -The war has created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people in the Gaza Strip.A US- and Israel-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), took the lead in food distribution in the territory in late May, when Israel partially lifted a more than two-month blockade on aid deliveries.But its operations have had a chaotic rollout, with repeated reports of aid seekers killed near its facilities while awaiting rations.UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.The UN human rights office said last week that more than 500 people have been killed waiting to access food from GHF distribution points.The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza on Sunday placed that toll even higher, at 751 killed.Hamas’s October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 57,418 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.burs/ser/dv