Agreement imminent, agreement done, or rather no. The turning point that the world is asking for remains suspended in the hyperuranium, the truce in Gaza with the release of the Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, the return home of the displaced, the arrival of aid and the end, at least for a few weeks, of the operations military.
The newspaper circulated the rumor that Hamas would have agreed to the first phase, with the release of 33 hostages in exchange for a 40-day truce, the green light for the return of displaced persons and the withdrawal of the army from the southern part of the Strip. Saudi Alsharq and the Israeli TV Channel 12. The green light, according to these sources, came after American assurances, through Egypt and Qatar, that Israel would also be convinced to accept phase 2 and 3, for another 84 days, with the release of all hostages and a definitive ceasefire. It’s a shame that Israel denies the hypothesis of a definitive truce. Yesterday, Israeli government spokesmen denied this twice: “Israel – said one of them – will not under any circumstances accept the end of the war as part of an agreement for the release of our hostages. As decided at a political level, the ‘The IDF will enter Rafah and destroy the remaining Hamas battalions, with or without a temporary truce to allow the release of our hostages.” “Reports that Israel agreed to end the war as part of a prisoner exchange agreement, or that Israel will allow mediation to secure an end to the war,” added another, “are inaccurate. So far Hamas has not has given up on calling for an end to the war and in doing so is hindering the possibility of reaching a truce.” This is, moreover, the line repeatedly reiterated by Netanyahu.
The truth is that Hamas asks for what Israel does not want to give. “Any agreement – reiterates Taher Nunu, advisor to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and negotiator in Cairo – must include our national demands: the complete and permanent end of the aggression; the complete withdrawal of the occupation from the Gaza Strip; the return of displaced people to their homes without restrictions; and a real prisoner exchange, as well as reconstruction and the end of the blockade.” “We are still talking about the main issues – said Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan in an interview with Al Jazeera – namely the complete ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israel from Gaza. Unfortunately Netanyahu declared that, regardless of a ceasefire fire, the attack on Rafah will continue, which means there will be no permanent ceasefire.”
The face-to-face continues, because progress is on everything but the essential point: the permanent end of hostilities. Everyone, it is clear, pushes in the direction that seems most convenient to them and the impression is that in the Israeli government there is a close confrontation between Netanyahu and the radical right on the one hand and negotiators like Benny Gantz, who yesterday confirmed that Hamas is still not He gave no response but seemed irritated by the government spokesmen’s statements.
“I suggest – he said – that political authorities and all those who make decisions wait for official updates, that they stay calm and not fall into hysteria.” Gantz then confirmed that if Hamas were to accept the agreement, the War Cabinet – scheduled for today – will discuss the matter.
Last night tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and Caesarea demanding an agreement. “We are at a fateful moment and we must ensure – underlined the families of the hostages – that the current agreement is implemented and that all the abductees return home. Today it is clear that the only way to bring them back is the Israeli commitment to end the war, and the Israeli government must choose to save lives and return those abandoned.”
