The small cabinet decided to try to renew the pressure to return the hostages held by Hamas, but despite all the reports, talks have not yet begun to advance a new deal.
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Israel is exerting international pressure, backed by the United States, on Qatar and Egypt, the mediators, to return with a significant offer to the negotiating table. The red line presented to the cabinet: Any deal that includes a demand for a complete halt to the fighting in Gaza will not be accepted.
Barnea as a barometer
Israel also noted that the previous plan for releasing abductees – at a ratio of one abductee to three terrorists and a day of respite – was still open to implementation, but Hamas did not provide lists of abductees for release via Egypt or Qatar. This week, a diplomatic source denied reports of a deal that included the release of senior officials imprisoned in Israel and a halt to hostilities, calling the reports "fake news." However, it is correct to say that Israel is interested in another deal to release the remaining abductees and is pressing for good conditions for its existence.
Poster and empty table display for the abductees in Geneva, photo: AP
Yael Adar at the headquarters of the abductees, photo: Yehoshua Yosef
The key to progress on the axis of deals for the release of the hostages lies first in the American pressure exerted on the issue, but mainly in the hands of Qatar and Egypt, which will try to prove effective mediation once again in favor of the return of the abductees on the one hand and assistance to the situation in Gaza in the face of the fighting on the other.
The ministers of the small cabinet expressed support for the attempt to renew contacts this week, since the objectives of the operation are defined directly through the return of the abductees home.
Prime Minister Netanyahu in the Security Cabinet (archive), photo: Haim Tzach/GPO
Mossad Director Dadi Barnea, Photo: Gideon Markowitz
The test of progress will be when the junior teams dealing with the issue beyond Israel's borders are joined by Mossad Director David Barnea. On each of the previous occasions when such a deal was about to come to fruition, Barnea left Israel on a special flight and landed in Qatar. As long as he is here in Israel, political sources say, the progress we expected has not yet been achieved.
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