12/18/2024–|Last updated: 12/18/202408:26 PM (Mecca time)
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke about the negotiations of the exchange deal and ceasefire in Gaza being close to their goal, while the Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns, is holding talks in this regard in the Qatari capital, Doha.
Sullivan said in an interview with MSNBC on Wednesday that an agreement can be reached through pressure from mediators and the commitment of Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).
The US National Security Advisor explained that the sanctions that prevent this relate to the details, determining the names of the prisoners who will be released, and the deployment of Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip during the ceasefire, as he put it.
He added, “These obstacles can be overcome if Hamas is willing to agree to conclude this deal.”
The Hamas movement confirmed in a statement – yesterday, Tuesday – that in light of the serious and positive discussions taking place in Doha under the auspices of the Qatari and Egyptian mediator brothers, reaching a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement is possible if the occupation stops setting new conditions.
Hamas has repeatedly stressed that any prisoner exchange agreement must lead to an end to the aggression on the Gaza Strip and the return of the displaced to their areas. It has previously accused Netanyahu of procrastinating and setting new conditions to thwart efforts to reach an agreement.
Talks in Doha
Meanwhile, Reuters and the American Axios website reported that CIA Director William Burns is visiting Doha today, Wednesday, to discuss negotiations on the exchange deal with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, the Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.
Axios also quoted an American official as saying that White House Middle East Affairs Advisor Brett McGurk arrived in Doha to participate in talks with Qatari, Egyptian and Israeli officials.
Meanwhile, CNN quoted a diplomatic source as saying that the terms of the currently proposed exchange deal are generally consistent with the proposal presented by US President Joe Biden earlier this year.
But the source explained that “what has changed is that Israeli forces may remain in Gaza temporarily in the Philadelphia and Netzarim axes,” he said.
In recent days, Israeli officials spoke of achieving “unprecedented” progress in the swap deal negotiations, and a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated the possibility of reaching an agreement before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20.
Smotrich rejects the deal
For his part, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that the time “is not to give Hamas a lifeline, but rather to continue crushing it and pressuring it until it returns the Israeli prisoners.”
Smotrich added that continuing to conclude deals in which hundreds of what he called terrorists would be released and allowing a million people to return to the northern Gaza Strip is a grave mistake.
The Israeli minister believed that the exchange deal “does not serve Israel’s goals and interests, does not achieve victory in the war, and does not return all Israeli prisoners because it is a partial deal.”
The opposition and families of Israeli prisoners accuse Netanyahu of obstructing reaching an agreement to maintain his position and government, as extremist ministers – including Smotrich and Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir – threaten to withdraw from the government and topple it if the war on Gaza is ended.
Source : Tel Aviv Tribune + Agencies + Israeli press