2024-04-08T20:51:47+00:00
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/ The leader of the Hamas movement, Ali Baraka, confirmed on Monday that the Palestinian movement rejected the latest proposal presented by Israel during talks in Cairo for a ceasefire, according to Reuters.
A Hamas source told Agence France-Presse earlier, Monday, that the Palestinian movement is considering proposing a three-stage truce lasting six weeks, the first stage of which includes the release of Israeli women and children detained by it in exchange for the release of up to 900 Palestinian detainees.
On Monday, Axios revealed, citing three Israeli officials, that CIA Director Bill Burns presented in Cairo, on Sunday, a new proposal to advance the agreement between Israel and Hamas, “which would ensure the release of about 40 hostages held in… Gaza in exchange for a six-week ceasefire.
The deal includes the release of at least 700 Palestinian prisoners, including more than 100 serving life sentences for killing Israelis, according to Axios.
It is not clear whether this is related to the same proposal that a Hamas source spoke to Agence France-Presse about.
It is noteworthy that Burns met in Cairo, on Sunday, with the head of the Israeli Mossad, the Prime Minister of Qatar, and the head of Egyptian Intelligence in an attempt to break the deadlock in the negotiations.
A large Hamas delegation was in Cairo at the same time and held separate meetings with Egyptian and Qatari mediators.
A spokesman for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the meetings in Cairo as “encouraging.”
Israeli officials told Axios that Burns’ proposal is based on conditions discussed during previous negotiations in March.
A third Israeli official said that he (Burns) asked for more concessions from both parties.
Under the American proposal, Hamas – according to Axios – must give up the number and identity of the prisoners it wants to release from Israeli prisons, and submit a list of the names of forty living Israeli hostages that it can release in return.
According to the same proposal, Israel must make concessions regarding the return of displaced Palestinian civilians to the northern Gaza Strip.
Stages of implementing the proposed agreement
The proposal that Agence France-Presse spoke about stipulates, in the first stage, the release of 42 Israeli hostages (including soldiers, children, and elderly women) in exchange for 800 to 900 Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons, including about 100 who are serving long sentences, including life imprisonment. As explained by a source close to the negotiations, who requested that his name not be revealed.
The source pointed out that the first phase of the proposal envisages the return of displaced Palestinian civilians to the northern Gaza Strip, while allowing the entry of between 400 and 500 aid trucks daily.
In a second stage, all other hostages are released.
The third and final stage stipulates the complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip and the lifting of the siege that Israel has imposed on the Strip since Hamas took control of it in 2007.
Israel estimates that there are currently 129 hostages still being held in the Gaza Strip, of whom 34 have died.