Mossad chief arrives in Rome to participate in Gaza negotiations

The website said, “Barnea arrived in Rome this morning to attend the summit of hostage release negotiations, with the participation of CIA Director William Burns, as well as Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian Intelligence Chief Abbas Kamel.”

This comes as the American website “Axios” quoted a senior Israeli official and two other sources as saying that Israel had delivered its updated proposal regarding the ceasefire agreement and the release of prisoners in the Gaza Strip to the United States on Saturday, which included new demands that could complicate the conclusion of the deal.

The website revealed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has toughened his position on the deal and added new demands, such as establishing a mechanism to monitor the movement of Palestinian weapons and militants from southern Gaza to the north, and maintaining Israeli control over the border between Gaza and Egypt.

An Israeli official said the updated proposal included mention of establishing a foreign mechanism to monitor and prevent the transfer of militants and weapons from the southern Gaza Strip to the north, but without specifying how this mechanism would work or who would be responsible for it.

The Israeli official pointed out that the proposal also includes changes in the locations where Israeli army forces will be redeployed in the Gaza Strip in the first phase of the deal, in addition to the condition that Israeli army forces remain in the Philadelphi Corridor on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt during the implementation of the first phase.

According to Axios, Israeli negotiators were not optimistic on Friday that the meeting in Rome would lead to a breakthrough.

An Israeli official said, “Netanyahu wants a deal that is impossible to get. At the moment, he is not ready to move, and therefore we may be heading towards a crisis in the negotiations instead of a deal.”

A high-level Egyptian source revealed Cairo’s insistence on the necessity of the upcoming Rome meeting reaching an agreement formula that stipulates an immediate ceasefire and guarantees the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

Source: Ynet + Media