Hamas’s political chief stated on Tuesday that the group was contemplating a proposal to pause the preventing in Gaza and alternate hostages for Palestinian prisoners, a probably promising signal for a deal that was instantly adopted by a reminder of the hurdles forward.
The Hamas chief, Ismail Haniyeh, steered his openness to a deal in an announcement, however caught to longstanding calls for for the overall withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, which the Israeli chief, Benjamin Netanyahu, instantly rejected.
Representatives from 4 nations — the United States, Qatar, Egypt and Israel — agreed over the weekend at talks in Paris to present the group with a framework that will start with a six-week cease-fire to permit for the discharge of extra hostages.
Mr. Haniyeh stated that Hamas was learning the proposal, thanking Qatar and Egypt for his or her efforts, and steered in his assertion that Hamas was prepared to work with the framework, if it helps obtain its calls for. In addition to a everlasting cease-fire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, he stated Hamas was looking for the reconstruction of Gaza, the lifting of a yearslong Israeli blockade on the territory and the discharge of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
Mr. Netanyahu appeared to right away push again at Mr. Haniyeh’s statements, saying that Israel wouldn’t withdraw its army from Gaza or free 1000’s of Palestinian prisoners.
“We will not compromise on anything less than total victory,” he stated in a speech within the West Bank, in line with an Israeli assertion.
It was unclear whether or not the 2 males’s feedback have been makes an attempt to stake out negotiating positions or to enchantment to their constituencies at house. But the settlement by Hamas’s chief to even contemplate a proposal floated partly by Israel raised hopes that there was a chance of a deal, even when there are nonetheless large variations between the edges.
After talks in Paris on Sunday, representatives from the 4 nations agreed to have Qatar present a framework to Hamas that proposes a pause within the struggle, throughout which Hamas would alternate some hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, officers stated.
In the proposed framework, Hamas would launch older hostages, women and kids, if any are nonetheless being held and are alive, in line with the officers, who stated that will be the primary of three potential phases of swaps.
Mr. Haniyeh added in his assertion that Hamas had obtained an invite to Cairo to debate “the framework agreement from the Paris meeting.”
The officers, who agreed to talk on the situation of anonymity to explain delicate diplomacy, cautioned that the talks have been at an early stage and that many particulars would should be labored out if Hamas agreed to start building on the framework. The group’s political leaders, together with Mr. Haniyeh, would wish to convey the proposal to its army leaders — a course of that would take days or longer as a result of the army leaders are believed to be hiding in tunnels deep beneath Gaza.
The assembly in Paris — which included the C.I.A. director, William J. Burns; Israeli safety officers; and the prime minister of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani — got here as Israel’s authorities has confronted elevated pressure over its dealing with of the struggle, which started on Oct. 7. That day, Hamas led sweeping assaults into Israel that Israeli officers stated killed about 1,200 individuals and took about 240 extra hostage, making it the worst terrorist assault within the nation’s historical past.
More than 100 hostages have been launched throughout a weeklong pause within the preventing in November, together with 240 Palestinian prisoners and detainees held by Israel. But efforts towards one other deal have to date been elusive.
Family members of these nonetheless being held in Gaza have referred to as for an pressing deal and the International Court of Justice in The Hague final week ordered the supply of extra humanitarian support to Palestinians in Gaza, the place health officers say greater than 26,000 individuals have died since Israel’s army marketing campaign started.
Sheikh Mohammed, the Qatari prime minister, stated on Monday that “good progress” had been made within the negotiations. Speaking at an occasion hosted by the Washington-based Atlantic Council, he stated that talks have been the one viable path towards de-escalation, including that the rising demise toll from Israel’s marketing campaign in Gaza was “not getting any results to get the hostages back.”
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