WAs disagreements between Israel and the United States over the approach to the Gaza war become increasingly apparent, an Israeli delegation has once once more headed to Doha to negotiate a temporary ceasefire and the release of hostages. Led by the head of the foreign intelligence agency Mossad, David Barnea, the delegation is scheduled to meet in the Qatari capital this Saturday with CIA Director William Burns, Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian Intelligence Minister Abbas Kamel.
The USA, Qatar and Egypt are mediating in indirect talks between Israel and Hamas that have been dragging on for several weeks. They aim for the Islamists to release 40 Israeli hostages during a six-week ceasefire. In return, Israel should release several hundred Palestinian prisoners from prisons. Hamas is also demanding that the Israeli military allow the Palestinians displaced into the south of the Gaza Strip to return to their homes in the center and north of the coastal area. Israel currently only wants to allow women and children to return.
Cautiously optimistic signals have recently come from Washington. “We believe that we are getting closer (to an agreement), that the differences are narrowing,” US National Security Council communications director John Kirby said on Friday (local time). The way the talks went was a “good sign”. However, there is no date for a conclusion, which can only occur once an agreement is reached on the entire package.
Dispute in the War Cabinet
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced strong pressure in the war cabinet to expand the delegation’s negotiating powers for Doha. In the group, in which ex-general Benny Gantz, who comes from the opposition, also sits, things were “dramatic” on Friday, reported the Channel 12 television station. The head of the domestic intelligence service Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, threatened not to comply To fly to Doha if the delegation to which he belongs is not allowed to negotiate more flexibly.
Blinken in Tel Aviv once morest Rafah offensive
The United States, Israel’s closest ally, openly criticizes Israel’s frequent restrictions on humanitarian access. Washington is particularly vocal in rejecting a ground offensive in the southern city of Rafah, which Netanyahu has repeatedly announced. There are currently 1.5 million people living in the town on the border with Egypt. Most of them have fled from other parts of the Gaza Strip and live there in miserable conditions. “A major ground offensive (…) would risk the deaths of even more civilians, even greater chaos in the delivery of humanitarian aid,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday during a visit to Tel Aviv. For Israel, it also means the risk of further global isolation.
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