Egyptian sources say there is no concrete proposal on the table • On the other hand, security officials believe there is "no better opportunity to close a deal at a reasonable price" • Hamas desperately needs a deal that can present to Gaza residents and do everything to get it - even at the price of a lap • Interpretation
Yesterday, Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, who is currently outside the Gaza Strip, announced "on the initiative of the movement, we are ready to go into direct talks to carry out an exchange deal in the shadow of the humanitarian situation."
There are currently no contacts; Not indirect, and not through German, Swiss, and so on. The deal between Israel and Hamas in the deal will be purely Egyptian, and according to Egyptian sources, there are currently no contacts and there is no concrete proposal on the table beyond Sinwar's statements and Hamas officials in the Arab and Palestinian media. So what's really going on? Hamas is on its knees to drive a deal.
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Why now? This is for a variety of reasons, most notably that the organization's possibilities for violent provocations such as rocket fire, and operations near the fence are not feasible because escalation in the south will result in harsh response from Israel, as long as global attention is paid to Corona - and Gaza, what to do, is not even interesting at the moment one. Nor are the Arab states.
Another major reason is that escalation from Hamas and / or Islamic Jihad will not only result in a harsh response from the IDF, but will also obstruct Israeli aid to Gaza to deal with the Corona epidemic.
Therefore, Hamas is in desperate need of political achievement and a deal with Israel that will result in the release of prisoners and will include both medical aid and humanitarian relief to Gaza, which will provide a political achievement for the people in Gaza.
On the Israeli side, the distressed cities that Hamas is broadcasting are aware of the fact that the given situation is the best opportunity to close a deal at an affordable price. According to Egyptian sources, Israel does not want a "reasonable" price deal, but a deal where Israel will pay a minimum price and will not be required to deal with stiff public internal criticism.
And here is a kind of gamble on the part of Israel, based on an assessment by security officials, that Hamas has nowhere else to go to meet its demands. Days will tell if it was a wise move.
I believe that right now, Hamas needs this deal much more than Israel and the last word from the organization has not yet been said. Probably the first to blink at this poker game will be Sinwar and its people stuck in Gaza, while Haniyeh and the organization's political bureau feel safe in the luxury hotels and suites abroad.
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Meanwhile, during an interview with Arabic TV, Haniyeh said that "the issue of prisoners was and remains our nation's and Hamas's priority, and the release of our prisoner is a commitment. The Corona threatens prisoners' lives in the occupation prisons, and we place full responsibility on the enemy for their health."
He said: "We have held talks for five years on the issue of Shalit and succeeded in winning. We are always optimistic that we will achieve what we want and the battle with the enemy is open." Haniyeh added: "We have 500 prisoners sentenced to life in prison, and the authority needs to establish a unified strategy for the release of prisoners."
The initiative proposed by Hamas leader Gaza Yahya Sinwar to exchange prisoners with Israel will be carried out in two stages, similar to the deal in which Gilad Shalit was released, according to reports in the Arab and Palestinian media.
Hamas is reportedly offering a preliminary first-stage deal and a confidence-building step in which Israel will release several dozen elderly and sick prisoners, as well as a similar number of minors and women incarcerated in Israel, in exchange for information on the fate of Israeli civilians, Abra Mengistu and Hisham a-Syed The border to the Gaza Strip is held by Hamas.
In the second phase of the deal, Israel will release Palestinian prisoners according to a list that Hamas will submit in return for restoring the bodies of IDF Hadar Goldin and Oron Saul soldiers in the terrorist organization.