Ceasefire and Hostages, Israeli Official: “Include the Head of Hamas in the Negotiations”
It is necessary to include the leader of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, in the new round of negotiations on a ceasefire in Gaza and the exchange of hostages, which will begin today in Doha, the capital of Qatar. An Israeli official said to the Israeli broadcaster “Channel 12”, stating that the negotiation process will be “long and complex”.
The Israeli delegation led by the head of the Mossad, David Barnea, who will participate in the negotiations in the Qatari capital, “will be engaged in indirect talks with the Hamas leadership” and “will need to speak” with the leader of the Islamist group Sinwar, the official explained, recalling that the latest Hamas proposal “does not was good” and that “both sides will have to be flexible”.
Sources who attended last night’s Israeli cabinet meeting told “Channel 12” that there was a “good discussion,” which provided the Barnea-led delegation with excellent guidance to enable “real negotiations.”
According to the Israeli broadcaster, there are some issues on which the delegation is authorized to make decisions without cabinet approval, to speed up the process.
The talks have been on hold since last week, when Israel rejected Hamas’s response to its latest offer of a six-week truce that would see the release of 40 hostages, with the possibility of subsequent phases to extend the break in fighting and allow the release of other hostages.
The Islamist group is reportedly seeking an agreement for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and a commitment from the Jewish state to end military operations permanently, withdrawing its troops from Gaza and allowing residents of the northern Strip to return to their homes.
In his speech, Netanyahu also called for international pressure to be placed on Hamas and Iran, rather than on Israel.
“No international pressure will prevent us from achieving all the objectives of the war: eliminating Hamas, freeing all our hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer represents a threat to Israel,” said the prime minister, assuring that the IDF will operate in Rafah “with attention ”. “It will take a few weeks and it will happen.
Those who say that the operation in Rafah will not take place are the same ones who said that we would not enter Gaza, that we would not operate in Shifa, in Khan Yunis and that we would not resume fighting after the ceasefire (of a week of November),” concluded Netanyahu.
