Tel Aviv Tribune obtained a copy of the basic principles document for the exchange deal and the return of complete calm in the Gaza Strip, which is the basis of negotiations between Hamas and Israel.
US President Joe Biden had presented a plan to reach a prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas and end the war in the Gaza Strip, in a speech he delivered on May 31, during which he presented an Israeli proposal in this regard, consisting of 3 stages.
A week after Biden’s presentation, Tel Aviv Tribune obtained the actual document that forms the basis of the deal that the resistance in Gaza and Israel are negotiating.
In the following article, we monitor how the document translated the general principles announced by the American President in the original document that Tel Aviv Tribune reviewed and monitored its provisions and details.
Name and stages
- The document was called “Basic Principles for the Agreement on the Exchange of Detainees and Prisoners and the Return of Sustainable Calm.”
- The document talks about three stages, each of which is 6 weeks, or 42 days.
- It includes a timetable for the release of all Israeli detainees in the Gaza Strip, whether civilians or military personnel, living or dead, regardless of the history of their captivity, in exchange for the release of an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners, and a return to what it described as sustainable calm in order to achieve a permanent ceasefire.
According to what Tel Aviv Tribune monitored, the document appears to be a detail of some broad lines that US President Joe Biden spoke briefly about.
But the difference between them is in stopping the war. While Biden spoke explicitly about a complete and complete ceasefire, the document of principles stipulated a temporary cessation of military operations in the first phase, and a temporary cessation of military aviation and reconnaissance for 10 hours a day and 12 hours on days of prisoner exchanges.
Withdrawal from the sector
Regarding the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the document talks about a partial withdrawal starting on the seventh day from the start of the implementation of the deal, where the Israeli forces will withdraw from Al-Rashid Street to Salah Al-Din Street, and the displaced will be allowed to return to their areas of residence, specifically after the resistance releases seven female detainees.
As for the withdrawal from the center of the Gaza Strip, specifically from the Netzarim axis and the Kuwait roundabout, it will not take place before the 22nd day, as Israeli forces will be positioned east of Salah al-Din Road along the border, and the residents of al-Mashal will be allowed to return to their areas.
The first phase includes an intensive introduction of aid with 600 trucks per day, half of which goes to the northern regions.
On the 16th day of the first phase, indirect negotiations begin regarding the second phase, specifically regarding the exchange of recruits and the remaining male Israeli prisoners held by the resistance factions in Gaza.
As stated in President Biden’s presentation, the Basic Principles Document stipulated that the ceasefire would continue as long as negotiations regarding the second phase continued.
The second phase
According to the document, the second phase will begin with an announcement of the restoration of what it described as sustainable calm, then the release of all remaining Israeli male detainees who are alive in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners.
This phase ends with a complete and complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip.
The Document of Principles does not contain any explicit and clear text on lifting the siege on the Gaza Strip. Rather, the document only talks about “opening border crossings and facilitating the movement of people and the transport of goods,” which are some of the provisions of the third phase of the deal.