Occupied Jerusalem- Israeli media reported details of what they said were the broad outlines of a possible exchange deal with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), which was drafted in cooperation with the Israeli security services, Mossad chief David Barnea, and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar.
Under the weight of protests in the Israeli street demanding the release of those detained by Hamas, strengthening convictions of the Israeli failure to achieve the goals of the war on Gaza, and disagreements in the “war cabinet,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that he had presented broad outlines for a possible exchange deal, refusing to go into details.
According to these lines, 136 Israeli detainees will be released in 3 stages:
- Civilian detainees.
- Then the female soldiers and the bodies of dead detainees.
- Finally, the soldiers and men who serve in the Israeli army are regular and reserve, which is the condition that Hamas has insisted on from the beginning.
In return, Israel will release at every stage thousands of Palestinian prisoners, male and female, including veteran prisoners, the sick, the elderly, people with high sentences, and prisoners who the occupation says “have blood on their hands,” and the army will gradually withdraw from the Gaza Strip.
allegations
Netanyahu claimed that there was no serious offer by Hamas for an exchange deal, and he appeared contradictory during his meeting with a delegation of the families of Israeli detainees held by the Palestinian resistance, as he stated that he rejected the movement’s demands to end the war and reach an agreement that he says also includes the release of “elite forces” militants from Hamas. Who were arrested by Israel for allegedly participating in the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle.
Israel recently handed over to the Qatari and Egyptian mediators a new framework for a possible exchange deal that includes preparing for a two-month truce in exchange for the return of all those detained by Hamas in Gaza, according to two senior Israeli officials.
According to Barak Ravid, a political analyst on the Walla website, this proposal is the most important that Tel Aviv has put forward since the beginning of the war, in an attempt to bring about a breakthrough in the negotiations to release the detainees.
Although the proposal rejects Hamas’s request to stop the war, it includes preparations for the longest ceasefire agreed to by Israel so far, according to Ravid.
The analyst quoted two senior Israeli officials as saying that the “war cabinet” agreed about 10 days ago on a “framework” that includes the principles of what Israel wants and does not want to implement within the framework of the detainee release deal.
Ravid says that the deal includes the release of all living detainees and the return of all bodies held by Hamas in several stages.
The first phase will include the release of Israeli women who are still in captivity, men over the age of 60, and detainees who are in serious health condition.
In the next stages, men under the age of 60, female soldiers, male soldiers, and guard team members will be released, and the bodies will be returned.
According to the same proposal, Israel and Hamas would agree in advance on the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released for each Israeli detainee in each of the categories, and then the names of the Palestinian prisoners to be released would be negotiated separately at each stage.
Cautious optimism
Ravid explained that the Israeli proposal includes preparations to begin redeploying army forces in the Gaza Strip, so that they gradually withdraw from large population centers, as well as allowing a “gradual and controlled” return of the Palestinian population to Gaza City and the northern Strip during the implementation of the agreement.
According to Ravid, the framework of the potential deal approved by the “War Cabinet” indicates that Israel will not agree to end the war after releasing the detainees and releasing all 6,000 Palestinian prisoners in its prisons.
He stressed that Israel is still waiting for Hamas’ response to the proposal, but the Israeli side expressed cautious optimism about the possibility of moving forward with negotiations on the basis of this proposal, and acknowledged that if the deal is implemented, the activity of the occupation army in the Gaza Strip two months after the truce will be significantly less in scope and intensity. .
In reading the implications of Israel’s drafting of a proposal for a new exchange deal and what was reported about Hamas showing some kind of flexibility in negotiating the deal, Amos Harel, a military analyst for the Haaretz newspaper, believes that the gap in positions is still large, but there is a willingness on both sides to discuss the broad outlines of this deal.
Harel estimated that the United States, Qatar and Egypt are exerting pressure on both sides to enter into a process of negotiations that will lead to the conclusion of an exchange deal in stages, in the first stage of which some Israeli detainees will be released, and in the final stage the occupation army will withdraw from the Gaza Strip, and thus the end of the war will be declared.
Escalation and frustration
Harel added that it appears that no breakthrough has been achieved yet in the talks, but “for the first time in a long time there is a willingness from Israel and Hamas to discuss – and seriously – the broad lines of the deal, and it is expected that one of the channels of talks will resume this week in Cairo.”
The military analyst pointed out that Israel, in light of the widening circle of protests denouncing the government’s handling of the file of detainees held by Hamas, is seeking to move forward with another stage to release them in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners it holds in prisons, while agreeing to a two-week ceasefire.
He pointed out that the Egyptian mediators are seeking to reach a ceasefire for a period of 90 days, and to eventually move to a final stage of the agreement to end the war.
In this context, Harel points out that the families of the detainees have escalated their protests against the backdrop of frustration “with what appears to be the laxity of the political level regarding the deal.”