It has been reported that Israel will send its delegation to Cairo on Saturday or Sunday to negotiate a ceasefire and a mutual prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza with Hamas.
According to a statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, the Israeli delegation will go to Cairo on Saturday or Sunday, August 3, for indirect negotiations regarding a ceasefire and mutual prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza.
Hamas has not yet made a statement regarding the issue.
According to a report by Israel’s Channel 12 television, a meeting between Netanyahu and Israeli intelligence directors on the evening of August 1, following the assassination of Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, was marked by heated debates and verbal confrontations.
In the meeting, the sides evaluating the new clauses Netanyahu wanted to add to the agreement tried to figure out how they could formulate these and implement a diplomatic solution with Lebanon in the north by reaching an agreement in Gaza.
It was claimed that Ronen Bar, Director of Israel’s internal intelligence agency Shin Bet, said during the meeting, “I feel that the Prime Minister does not want the draft proposal on the table. If that’s the case, please let us know.”
David Barnea, Director of the external intelligence agency Mossad, was reported to have said, “There is an agreement. If we delay, we will miss this chance. We must accept it.”
It was alleged that Netanyahu raised his voice at the intelligence chiefs, saying, “You are taking it slow. You don’t know how to negotiate. You are silencing me. Instead of pressuring the Prime Minister, pressure (Yahya) Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza.”
Senior officials in the security agency said after the heated discussions that “Netanyahu does not want an agreement at this time and has given up on Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip.”
Netanyahu’s Office denied the reports
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, in a statement, denied Channel 12’s report, stating that the Mossad Director did not say that an agreement was ready and that it needed to be accepted.
The Office claimed that Hamas did not give up its demand for “a permanent cessation of Israeli attacks and a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.”
Netanyahu’s Office also claimed that it was Hamas that proposed the new clauses to the agreement.
Families of Israeli prisoners angry with Netanyahu
In a written statement, an umbrella organization of families of Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip argued that the reports revealed that Netanyahu had withdrawn from the agreement he prepared.
The statement called on the Israeli negotiating delegation and leaders of intelligence agencies to inform the public about who is blocking the negotiations.
According to reports in the Israeli press, the security organization and intelligence agencies conducting the negotiations had expressed views in favor of reaching an agreement.
However, it was reported that Netanyahu was reluctant to agree under the pressure from his far-right coalition partners in the government.
While it was indicated that progress had been made in the prisoner exchange negotiations, Netanyahu had announced new preconditions such as Israel controlling the Philadelphia Corridor along the Egypt-Gaza border and monitoring displaced Palestinians returning to the north of Gaza.
According to reports reflected in the media, new conditions brought by Israel to the agreement included the continued presence of Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip during the prisoner exchange agreement.
The text also includes a condition that Palestinians be allowed to cross to the north of Gaza only after Israeli soldiers control the Netzarim Corridor, which divides Gaza into two.
Israel is also seeking an international guarantee that, in the event of disagreements or implementation failures during the second and third phases planned for the prisoner exchange agreement, the Israeli army can resume its attacks in Gaza.
Furthermore, before signing the agreement, Israel wants a list of live Israeli captives in Gaza.
