2024-02-17 16:16:32
Hamas is adhering to its positions in the exchange deal… and Israel may send a delegation to Qatar
The Hamas movement adhered to a final cessation of the war, Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the lifting of the siege, and the release of high-sentenced convicts, as conditions for completing the exchange deal, in direct response to the widespread pressure exerted on the movement to advance a prisoner exchange agreement with Israel, which It previously rejected these conditions, but is preparing to send a delegation to Qatar following similar pressures were exerted on it.
The head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, said on Saturday that “the resistance will not accept anything less than a complete cessation of aggression, the withdrawal of the occupation army from the Gaza Strip, the lifting of the unjust siege, the provision of safe and appropriate shelter for the displaced and those displaced due to the crimes of the occupation, the return of the displaced, especially to the north of the Gaza Strip, and a cessation of The barbaric starvation policy and commitment to reconstruction, all of which are humanitarian requirements and are subject to consensus in the United Nations, human rights institutions, and the decision of the International Court of Justice, and the occupation must comply with them.”
A convoy of Israeli vehicles near the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on Friday (AP)
Haniyeh added in a written statement distributed by his office, “Achieving a prisoner exchange deal through which our prisoners are released, especially the old ones and those with high sentences, is one of the goals of these negotiations, and this cannot be skipped.”
Haniyeh’s statement came in response to great pressure exerted on the movement to soften its position, and widespread demands for it to complete an exchange deal, including demands from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in order to avoid a possible Israeli attack on Rafah.
Haniyeh said that his movement responded all the time in a positive spirit and high responsibility with the mediators “in order to stop the aggression once morest our people, end the unjust siege, and allow the flow of aid, shelter, and reconstruction,” and it showed complete flexibility in dealing with these issues, but it is clear so far that the occupation is the one that continues to maneuver. And procrastinating on issues that concern our people, while his position revolves around the release of prisoners held by the resistance.” He added: “The movement deals with the ongoing negotiations in a positive spirit and high responsibility, but it will not neglect the great sacrifices of our people and the achievements of their valiant resistance.”
Tents for the displaced in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip (EPA)
The conditions that Hamas adhered to in Haniyeh’s statement, namely stopping the war, Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, rebuilding Gaza, and releasing a large number of important prisoners, are precisely the conditions that Israel rejected and under which it stopped the talks in Egypt last week.
However, Israeli Channel 13 said that an Israeli delegation is preparing to leave for Qatar in order to discuss the deal with the mediators.
According to Israeli sources, the delegation is scheduled to be given a specific mandate to respond to Hamas’ demands, according to the development of the negotiations process.
Israel prepared a document in which red lines were set that might not be waived.
The idea of sending the delegation came following major disagreements in the Israeli War Council, and pressure from US President Joe Biden.
Kan 11 channel said that Ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot threatened Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with dissolving the war cabinet if he continued to make decisions alone without consulting them.
Israeli soldiers during operations in the Gaza Strip on Saturday (Israeli Army – Reuters)
Kan confirmed that there was severe tension between the three that was observed during the war cabinet session that was held on Friday, which was the first cabinet meeting following the summit of intelligence chiefs in Cairo.
Gantz and Eisenkot expressed their dissatisfaction with Netanyahu for excluding them from decisions related to the deal, including the rejection of the final version, as well as the decision not to send a delegation to negotiate once more to Cairo.
Gantz and Eisenkot threatened Netanyahu that if he continued to make important decisions regarding the kidnapped people without them, there would be no need for this council.
Defense Minister Yoav Galant also expressed his dissatisfaction with Netanyahu for his decision not to send a delegation to negotiations without consulting him.
The three acknowledged that Netanyahu had divided them and complained that the decision-making in recent days regarding the kidnapped people was not normal. Gallant said that the one who sent the negotiating team to the talks was the War Cabinet, and therefore the report on the talks should reach the War Cabinet, not just the Prime Minister.
On Wednesday, Netanyahu decided not to return the Israeli delegation to Cairo to participate in the negotiations for the release of the kidnapped people, and instead announced the continuation of the fighting.
The Prime Minister’s Office stated that no new proposal from Hamas was put forward in Cairo, and despite the Egyptian mediator’s request to return to the discussion table, there is no reason to do so as long as the movement “does not back down from its imaginary demands.” Gantz, Eisenkot and Gallant were informed of the decision retroactively.
Destruction as a result of the Israeli bombing of Gaza City (AFP)
The differences worsened once morest the backdrop that the Mossad, the Shin Bet, and the army developed a new plan to release the kidnapped people, but Netanyahu rejected the plan immediately and without consulting Gantz, Eisenkot, and Gallant.
The United States and mediators are pushing to reach an exchange deal before the upcoming month of Ramadan, although the two sides (Israel and Hamas) are still far apart on the main issues in the negotiations.
Israel does not want to commit to stopping the war, nor to withdraw from the Gaza Strip, and has refused to discuss the reconstruction issue, while putting pressure on Hamas to reduce the number of Palestinian prisoners who will be released in any deal.
On Friday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog met secretly with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, to discuss negotiations aimed at securing the release of the hostages in Gaza, according to two informed sources reported to the American website “Axios”.
An Israeli official told Axios that there is a feeling that some progress has been made, and that there may be a willingness on the part of Hamas to soften its positions, so that more serious talks can be held regarding a new agreement.
Pending the success or failure of the negotiations, Israel is not expected to attack Rafah, the densely populated border, and there is widespread conviction in Israel, Hamas, the United States, and the mediators that there is an opportunity to advance an agreement until the beginning of Ramadan, and following that, Israel will expand its attack towards Rafah.
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