2024-02-15 18:21:45
2/15/2024-|Last update: 2/15/202409:18 PM (Mecca time)
Israeli Channel 12 reported that the War Council and the expanded government will hold two separate meetings – tonight – to discuss the prisoner exchange deal, after the arrival of CIA Director William Burns to Tel Aviv on a previously unannounced visit to discuss a possible deal, while Qatar awaits a response. The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on the position Israel presented to it this week.
The channel did not provide further details regarding the duration of the visit or its agenda.
Meanwhile, the American website “Axios” quoted informed sources that Burns arrived in Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Intelligence Director (Mossad) David Barnea to discuss negotiations regarding the detainees.
The website added that Burns arrived in Tel Aviv after a quick visit to Doha.
Yesterday, Wednesday, Netanyahu ordered the Israeli delegation, which was supposed to travel today, to resume prisoner exchange negotiations in Cairo, not to go there, considering that the negotiations will not continue unless Hamas abandons its demands to stop the war and withdraw Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
Last Tuesday, Burns participated in the quadrilateral meeting in Cairo, with the participation of the head of the Mossad, the head of Egyptian intelligence, Major General Abbas Kamel, and the Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani.
In a related development, the American CNN network quoted an informed source as saying that Qatar is still awaiting Hamas’ response to Israel’s position that it presented earlier this week after the Cairo meeting regarding the prisoner exchange deal.
The network said that the main point of disagreement regarding the exchange proposal is the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and Israel had rejected a proposal submitted by Hamas to release a large number of Palestinian prisoners.
For his part, the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, stressed that any agreement must guarantee a ceasefire, the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza, and the completion of a serious exchange deal.
Netanyahu (right) informed Blinken of his annoyance with the American proposal to recognize a Palestinian state (Anatolia)
Israeli resentment
Axios also quoted two Israeli officials as saying that Netanyahu, in his meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken last week, expressed his dissatisfaction with Washington discussing the option of recognizing the State of Palestine.
The two Israeli officials told the website that Netanyahu made it clear to Blinken that Washington’s step to recognize a Palestinian state would harm any effort by the Biden administration regarding peace and normalization, adding that this step would mean “offering a reward” to those who carried out the attack on October 7th.
Netanyahu stressed that Israel will not change its decades-old policies and recognize a Palestinian state.
Some officials in the administration of US President Joe Biden believe that recognizing a Palestinian state may be the first step in negotiations to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
For its part, the Times of Israel newspaper quoted American officials as saying that Biden has already run out of patience with Netanyahu. They also confirmed that the American president has believed for months that Netanyahu is ready to prolong the war for his political considerations.
A truce previously prevailed between Hamas and Israel for a week from November 24 to December 1, during which a ceasefire took place, a prisoner exchange took place, and very limited humanitarian aid was brought into Gaza, with Qatari-Egyptian-American mediation.
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