The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) warned Israel that the current Cairo negotiations on a prisoner exchange deal would be the “last chance,” and while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Hamas’ proposal for a truce does not meet basic demands, Washington spoke of the possibility of narrowing the gaps between the two parties.
Before a delegation from the movement headed to Cairo to complete discussions on a truce proposal, a Hamas official warned Israel, on Tuesday, that it would be the “last opportunity” to recover prisoners detained in the Gaza Strip.
The official – who preferred to remain anonymous – said, “This is the last chance for Netanyahu and the families of the Zionist prisoners to return their children, or their fate will be the same as pilot Ron Arad,” whose plane was shot down over Lebanon in 1986, and whose fate is still unknown.
On a related level, Hamas leader Osama Hamdan said – during a press conference – that the movement’s delegation went to Cairo to confirm the continuation of the political process to bind Israel to the agreement and its implementation, stressing that “the ball is now in the court of Netanyahu and the pillars of his extremist government.”
Hamdan added, “Our approval of the mediators’ proposal in exchange for the Netanyahu government’s maneuver puts the American administration in front of a clear entitlement,” stressing that the American administration must prove its seriousness and credibility in binding Netanyahu to the agreement.
Hamdan considered that “storming the Rafah crossing is a clear attempt to sabotage the efforts of the mediators to complete the agreement to stop the aggression against our people.”
Israeli militancy
On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Hamas’ proposal is far from Israel’s basic demands.
Netanyahu stressed that Israel will not allow Hamas to rebuild its military capabilities or restore rule in the Gaza Strip.
Regarding Rafah, Netanyahu said that the entry of Israeli forces into Rafah is a very important step, and that the army is on its way to eliminating the four Hamas brigades there. He added, “Entering Rafah serves two main goals of the war: the return of our kidnappers and the elimination of Hamas.”
For his part, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said, “The military operation in Rafah will not stop until the elimination of Hamas or the recovery of the first kidnapped.”
Galant vowed that the Israeli army would deepen the military operation in Rafah if a settlement was not achieved to recover the prisoners.
But Strategic Policy Coordinator at the US National Security Council, John Kirby, said he was optimistic about the ability of the two parties to bridge the gaps between Hamas and Israel during the current round of talks in Egypt.
Kirby explained that the reason for his optimism about the possibility of narrowing the gaps between the two parties is what the negotiating paper has reached now, adding, “We hope that an agreement will be reached very soon.”
Cairo negotiations
These positions come at a time when the Egyptian Cairo News Channel reported on Tuesday, citing a high-ranking source, that Cairo is hosting delegations from Qatar, the United States, and Hamas with the aim of reaching a comprehensive truce in Gaza.
For its part, Israeli Army Radio said that the Israeli negotiating delegation arrived in Egypt to continue discussions on the prisoner return deal, without further details.
While Haaretz newspaper reported that the Israeli delegation includes members of the army, the Israeli intelligence service (Mossad), and the General Security Service (Shin Bet), without the participation of leaders from these bodies.
The newspaper “Israel Today” quoted an official as saying, “We will verify in Cairo whether what Hamas agreed to obliges us to a ceasefire in the first phase.”
In this context, CIA Director William Burns heads to Cairo to resume discussions on exchange negotiations.
In a related context, the official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said that the families of the prisoners demonstrated in front of the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tel Aviv, to demand that the Netanyahu government grant the Israeli delegation in Cairo the maximum authorization and great powers to continue negotiations with the aim of reaching an agreement to return their families.
The families of the prisoners read a statement during the demonstration, during which they called on Netanyahu and his government to end the war on Gaza and return their families.
They accused Netanyahu of obstructing the negotiations on a prisoner exchange deal and stopping the war on Gaza, and they urged the Ministers of the War Council, Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, to ask the Prime Minister to give the delegation the maximum mandate to continue these negotiations in order to bridge the gaps and reach an agreement.
Addressing Gantz and Eisenkot, they said, “Do not let Netanyahu sabotage the negotiations again.”