Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with representatives of the families of Israeli prisoners detained in Gaza, amid talk of American pressure on the necessity of concluding an exchange deal, and the Israeli President’s announcement of Tel Aviv’s readiness for a humanitarian truce in exchange for the release of prisoners held by the resistance.
“Israel Today” newspaper quoted Israeli President Isaac Herzog as confirming Israel’s readiness for another humanitarian truce in order to allow their release.
For his part, Axios reported that Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Galant informed US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that Israel is ready to give diplomacy a chance, provided that progress occurs within weeks.
Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper also quoted American officials as saying that US President Joe Biden believes that the time has come to conclude an exchange deal, since the return of detainees is a higher goal, as he put it.
The newspaper believes that the Israeli decision to renew negotiations to release the prisoners entails risks, including the potential impact on the Israeli army’s ground operation in Gaza.
“Israeli Channel 13” quoted a knowledgeable official as saying, “It is likely that the costs of the new prisoner exchange deal with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) will be very high and costly” for Israel.
While the Israeli Channel 12 said that “important, serious and deep” talks are taking place regarding the details of a prisoner exchange deal, but the agreement is not imminent, the Israeli newspaper “Yedioth Ahronoth” confirmed that Israel is determined to achieve a breakthrough in the talks despite its knowledge that it will “pay a heavy price.”
Study making concessions
Yedioth Ahronoth reported in a report published yesterday, Tuesday, that Israel is considering making concessions in order to conclude a new deal, noting that Israeli officials realize that the price may be high this time, in exchange for Hamas releasing detainees, and therefore they are studying the possibility of releasing prisoners. They are significant, meaning they have qualitative weight, for the sake of recovering Israeli detainees.
Senior American intelligence and defense officials began new diplomatic efforts aimed at reviving talks to release the prisoners, who are still being held by Hamas in Gaza.
CIA Director William Burns traveled to Warsaw – last Monday – to meet with David Barnea, director of the Israeli intelligence service (Mossad), and the Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, according to American and Egyptian officials, and an official said. American, the meetings are an attempt to resume discussions about the prisoners.
For his part, the US Secretary of Defense praised the partnership with Qatar, pointing out from the Qatari capital, Doha, where he arrived yesterday, Tuesday, on an official visit, to the Qatari mediation efforts, in partnership with Egypt, to release many detainees in the Gaza Strip.
In the same context, the Walla website reported that Israel sent Hamas via Qatar an offer of a truce for a week in exchange for the release of 40 of its prisoners.
Source : Tel Aviv Tribune + American press + Israeli press
