Military leaders assure Netanyahu that the army is capable of withdrawing completely from the Gaza Strip within 6 weeks

The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, Kan 11, reported on Monday that the position presented by the Israeli security services during discussions with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “firm,” noting that the 6 weeks refer to the first stage of the proposal, which is supposed to last 42 days and includes the so-called “humanitarian category” of prisoners.

The security leaders, according to what the report quoted from informed security sources, considered that “this short period of time (6 weeks) will not allow the factions’ movement to rehabilitate itself to the point of criticality with new means of war, or to build and rehabilitate tunnels,” and they said in a letter to Netanyahu: “We are aware of the security implications, but now is the right time to prioritize the release of the hostages.”

The report stated that the letter from senior security officials included a reference to two main issues that are currently in dispute: the first is the return of residents to the northern Gaza Strip, which Israel had agreed to on May 27 before Netanyahu raised it again as a contentious issue, and the second issue is related to the presence of army forces along the Philadelphi Corridor on the border with Egypt.

The report stressed that this position was unanimously agreed upon by senior Israeli security officials, including Defense Minister Yoav Galant, Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Mossad chief David Barnea, who is also leading the Israeli negotiating delegation in the talks with the mediators, and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.

On Sunday, Netanyahu agreed to send negotiators to hold talks with mediators next Thursday, in an attempt to advance negotiations aimed at reaching a prisoner exchange deal with the factions movement, after complex deliberations that lasted about 6 hours, while families of prisoners held in Gaza considered Netanyahu to be procrastinating in an “unjustified” manner.

During the lengthy deliberations held by Netanyahu, the Israeli security services stressed to the “political leadership” that “the Israeli army will know how to deal with the withdrawal from the Philadelphi corridor in the first stage of the deal (42 days), because the movement of the factions is not able to build tunnels during that period,” according to Kan 11. Netanyahu is facing American and domestic pressure regarding reaching a ceasefire agreement in the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, amid accusations that Netanyahu is placing obstacles in the negotiations in an attempt to thwart reaching a deal, for political motives related to his clinging to power in light of his partners’ threat to dissolve the government.

Earlier today, the Forum of Families of Prisoners Held in the Gaza Strip announced that two of them were killed while in the custody of the factions movement, and Israeli reports indicated that estimates indicate that the two prisoners were killed in the bloody attacks launched by the army on Khan Younis. The forum said in a statement that the deaths of the two prisoners represent “a stark reminder of the urgent need to return the hostages.”

An Israeli delegation led by Mossad chief David Barnea is expected to arrive in Doha next Thursday to discuss its new demands regarding the exchange deal. The delegation is scheduled to meet with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to discuss three Israeli demands, including control over the return of displaced persons to northern Gaza.

The expected cessation of hostilities revolves around a transitional agreement that begins with a truce of a fixed duration (6 weeks), noting that recent discussions were based on the framework set by US President Joe Biden in late May, in what he said was an Israeli proposal, noting that Netanyahu is the one obstructing moving forward under it.

Netanyahu demands that Israeli forces remain in the Philadelphi Corridor, which extends 14 kilometers along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, and that Israel control the return of civilians to the northern Gaza Strip. The Israeli side also demands that it “resolve the problem of the positioning of its forces in Gaza” before the truce begins.

Agence France-Presse quoted an informed source this evening as saying that the points are “a matter that can be negotiated” and that reaching an agreement is “possible” on the basis that Israel will not remain in Gaza “indefinitely,” in addition to finding a solution regarding the Philadelphi Corridor, which Egyptian mediators are discussing.

However, the source stressed that Israel’s return with additional demands was a “recurring theme” in the talks, and that Israel “changed the rules of the game” amid accusations that Netanyahu is deliberately obstructing the deal despite the Israeli security services’ agreement to withdraw “temporarily” from the Philadelphi corridor and its belief that there is “no point” in searching Gazans returning to the northern Gaza Strip to prevent the return of “militants” in light of the availability of weapons in the northern areas of the besieged Gaza Strip.

Source: Agencies