The proposal includes the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, at a rate of three prisoners for each hostage, a temporary repositioning of Israeli forces away from densely populated areas in Gaza and a significant increase in humanitarian aid flowing to the Strip.
It is said to be described as an abstract “framework”, a two or three page document with bullet points. The agreement stipulates temporary pauses after the six weeks, during which Israeli military prisoners and the bodies of hostages who died in captivity will be released, amid negotiators' hopes that the extension will lead to a permanent cessation of the fighting, which is now approaching its fourth end. Month. According to Israel, 109 hostages are still being held, including elderly people and children, along with the bodies of 27 people.
The head of Israel's Mossad intelligence service, David Barnea, who was authorized by Israel's war cabinet to negotiate on his behalf, attended Sunday's talks in Paris, where the framework was finalized, as did Ronen Bar, the head of Israel's domestic intelligence service. Shin Bet. The negotiators also included CIA Director William Burns, Egyptian Intelligence Chief Abbas Kamel, and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani.
Egypt has forwarded the current proposal, which must now be approved by Hamas military commanders believed to be inside the Strip.
After negotiations in Paris, Prince Mohammed headed to Washington for talks on Monday with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and on Tuesday with White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. According to a White House statement, Sullivan “urged that every effort be made to help Hamas secure the release of the hostages without delay.” Six of the remaining hostages are believed to be American citizens.
Officials familiar with the sensitive talks discussed the hostage negotiations on the condition of anonymity during what they said were the early stages, and stressed that any actual agreement would take time to come to fruition. While Israel agreed to the broad framework for a second temporary cessation of hostilities, officials said that major differences were certain to emerge when negotiating specific details and commitments.
“Going forward, it needs a lot of detail,” a senior official said.
A similar moratorium on hostage-prisoner exchanges was negotiated in November. During the week-long cessation of fighting, Hamas released 105 captured Israeli women and children and some foreigners. It was hoped that the follow-up phases would lead to further releases, but intense fighting soon resumed amid mutual accusations, allegations of bad faith, and violations of the agreement by both Israel and Hamas.
An official said that Israeli negotiators began expressing interest in resuming talks with Hamas in late December, after three Israeli hostages in Gaza were mistakenly killed by the Israeli army. Initially, the duration of the cessation of fighting was the main point of contention. Hamas had said that it would only accept a permanent ceasefire; The Israeli proposals stipulate a cessation of violence for several months.
Among the many details that could derail the new proposal, it remains unclear how many Israeli soldiers are being held hostage in Gaza. Israel says Hamas took 253 hostage when it launched its cross-border attack on October 7, killing at least 1,200 people. The current talks do not envision that Israeli forces – whether women or men – will be among the next wave of hostages to be released by Hamas.
It is not known who will choose the Palestinian prisoners whom Israel will release, and how they will be chosen. During the recent pause, Hamas accused Israel of violating the agreement to release older prisoners detained for a long period, instead of releasing a number of young men who were arrested during the recent skirmishes in the West Bank. Israel accused Hamas of violating the agreement by firing rockets at Israel.
Both sides have already put forward what they say are general non-negotiable positions.
“We will not remove the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip and we will not release thousands of terrorists,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday during an appearance at a military academy in the West Bank, as news spread of a temporary Israeli agreement on the framework. According to Israeli media. “None of this will happen. What will happen?” he vowed absolute victory.
Far-right members of Netanyahu's coalition government have threatened to resign if any agreement is reached, which could lead to the fall of his government. They, along with Netanyahu, accused Qatar – the main negotiating channel with Hamas – of being in the militants' pocket.
Hamas was equally extremist, if not more so. While the organization's political leaders work and travel openly in the region The senior official said that they were able to communicate with those inside Gaza, and they are “mere messengers.” It is clear that the military commanders are the ones who make the decision, led by Yahya Al-Sinwar, the military commander who tops the list of targets in Israel and who is believed to be hiding in tunnels under southern Gaza.
It is not clear how leaders outside and inside Gaza communicate with each other, but the length of time before a decision is made varies. Mobile phone and Wi-Fi signals are often blocked in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Hamas' political representatives have publicly set conditions for reaching an agreement that go far beyond what is likely to be acceptable to Israel, which has said it will not consider a real ceasefire or stop attacks until its “mission” of destroying Hamas is completed. It was completed and all hostages were recovered.
Taher al-Nono, a senior Hamas official and advisor to political leader Ismail Haniyeh, said in press statements: “Any agreement for us must include several points: The first point is to ensure a comprehensive and complete cessation of the aggression against the Gaza Strip.” Tuesday interview. Al-Nono also called for “the occupation’s withdrawal.” [forces] From all parts of the Gaza Strip, without any buffer zones,” and more humanitarian aid.
He said that these are the preconditions for serious negotiations on the release of the hostages. Hamas is open to doing this in stages, but “regardless of the timing: in the beginning, in the middle, in the end, it must include a ceasefire. The second point is that there will be no hostage negotiations under the gunfire.”
He said: “It seems that the American administration has begun to be convinced of this.” In response to a question about the details, Al-Nono said that among the reasons for Washington’s efforts to secure a cessation of fighting are the threats to American interests in the Red Sea, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, and “the northern borders of Palestine.” … the [U.S.] Elections that go beyond. … Of course, this is inconvenient for the American administration.
He said that if a ceasefire is reached, “we will start discussing the prisoners.” We didn't start discussing names and numbers. “We are discussing the principles or general framework of the agreement.”
Mohammed Nazzal, a senior Hamas member, told Al Jazeera that without a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, “we cannot accept this new proposal.”
The mediators are also using negotiations on a hostage release deal to discuss the basic framework for an agreement on post-war Gaza. But as with hostage negotiations, the devil is in the details. Diplomats stress that these talks are taking place on a separate track and are progressing much more slowly than hostage exchange discussions.
As they await the next round of negotiations, an official familiar with the talks said the mediators made the case to the Israelis that nearly four months of fighting had not brought all the hostages home. For Hamas, the official said, “the way to convince them is to ask them what alternative they have.”
Daadoush reported from Beirut and George reported from Doha, Qatar.
