After receiving Hamas’ response to the outline proposed in the Paris Agreement, as part of the negotiations for the release of the abductees, today (Wednesday) a meeting will be held with Prime Minister Netanyahu where Israel’s position will be formulated. In “Sky News Arabia” it was reported that Qatar pledged to Hamas that Israel would release between 3,000 and 5,000 prisoners, according to Hamas’ choice.
In the meantime, an Israeli senior official said that “there are many points in the Hamas response that was submitted last night that we believe will be killed and not crossed. The current debate is whether to reject the demands outright or to enter into negotiations in an attempt to soften the demands – the decision will be made at the end of the discussion with the Prime Minister that will take place in the next few hours “.
A protest calling for the promotion of a deal for the release of abductees (Photo: Avshalom Sassooni)
The Lebanese newspaper “Al-Akhbar”, close to Hezbollah, published this morning (Wednesday) the text of the terrorist organization’s response, which consists of three pages and contains amendments and “special appendices” to the required guarantees aimed at “stopping Israel’s aggression”. According to the report, the first phase – which will last about 45 days, the IDF forces will leave the inhabited areas in the Gaza Strip, in exchange for the release of abductees without a military background. According to the wording, women and children under the age of 19, as well as the elderly and sick, will be released in exchange for a “certain number” of Palestinian terrorists. In addition, Hamas demands the increase of humanitarian aid, the rehabilitation of hospitals and the return of the residents of the northern Gaza Strip to their homes.
In the second phase, according to the report, all male abductees will be released in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners, when again no specific number was specified, as well as a complete withdrawal of IDF forces from the Gaza Strip. The third phase will also last 45 days, during which bodies will be exchanged between the parties, and The humanitarian procedures will continue as agreed upon in the first and second stages.