Reuters quoted Netanyahu as saying: “Thousands of militants cannot return to northern Gaza under the deal. Any exchange deal must allow us to continue fighting until all the war’s goals are achieved.”
The Israeli prime minister’s office issued a list of demands it says are non-negotiable, as mediators prepare to meet this week in Cairo and Doha.
The list declares that any deal will allow Israel to return to fighting until its war goals are achieved, will not allow weapons smuggling along the Gaza-Egypt border, will not allow the return of “thousands of armed terrorists” to the northern Gaza Strip, and will seek to return the largest number of living prisoners from Gaza.
The statement also claims that Netanyahu’s refusal to halt the Israeli army’s ground operation in Rafah is what brought the factions’ movement back to the negotiating table.
The Associated Press quoted a Hamas official on Saturday as saying that the movement still wants “written guarantees” from mediators that Israel will continue to negotiate a permanent ceasefire agreement once the first phase goes into effect, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that the war will not end until Israel achieves its goals of destroying the movement’s military capabilities and ability to govern, and returning all Israeli prisoners held in Gaza.
On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed in a statement from his office that Mossad chief David Barnea had made a flying visit to Qatar, one of the main mediators, but his office said there were still “gaps between the two sides,” stressing that talks would continue this week.
In line with previous proposals, the deal would see 600 trucks of humanitarian aid enter Gaza daily, including 50 fuel trucks, with 300 of those heading to the hard-hit north, the officials said.
“There is a real chance at the moment to reach an agreement,” a source on the Israeli negotiating team, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said on Friday evening. That reflects a significant shift from Israel’s previous positions in the war, when it said the conditions set by the factions’ movement were unacceptable.
The source in the factions movement stated that the new proposal includes mediators guaranteeing a temporary ceasefire, delivering aid, and withdrawing Israeli forces as long as indirect talks continue to implement the second phase of the agreement.
Source: RT
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2024-07-08 22:01:15
