At the top of Hamas, they have not yet made a decision on how to respond to the outline of the deal for the release of hostages and a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Senior officials of the organization, both abroad and in the Gaza Strip, continue to hold discussions and consultations regarding the answer they will give regarding the proposal formulated in Paris.
The contacts also include dialogue with senior officials of the Islamic Jihad organization, and Hamas wants to convey a message that any decision will be made in cooperation with "their brothers in the terrorist organizations."
According to a Palestinian source, the leadership of Hamas abroad, led by Ismail Haniya, has been informed of the content of the proposal and the principles underlying it, but the paper itself has not yet been officially handed over to them.
"On Sunday, the written document will be delivered to Hania, and he will receive it from the Qataris in accordance with the rules of the protocol. Then he will discuss the issue with the head of Egyptian intelligence."
The content of the outline was also delivered to the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sanwar.
Ismail Haniyeh, photo: I.P
In the reports that circulated it was stated that there is a lot of tension within Hamas between the organization's senior officials in the Gaza Strip and those outside of it, and that this prevents progress in the deal.
According to a weekend publication in the "Wall Street Journal", Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sanwar "is willing to accept a six-week respite thinking that it will give Hamas time to regroup and allow the flow of humanitarian aid to the Strip."
Ismail Hania, who lives in Qatar, thinks on the other hand that it is necessary "to negotiate an agreement that will include a permanent cease-fire with international guarantees", as stated in the newspaper.
Palestinian sources denied that there are disputes within the organization.
One of them stated in a conversation with "Israel Hayom" that "disagreements and discourse within Hamas have always existed on all kinds of issues, but in this matter the publications are incorrect."
According to him, "Hamas officials in Qatar think that the last word on this matter should be left to the military arm of Hamas in Gaza. Whoever leads the fighting on the ground in the Strip has the authority to decide. We leave the decision to Gaza itself."
He also noted that technical matters related to the locations of top Hamas members in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sanwar, Muhammad Daf, and Marwan Issa - also contribute to the slowing down of the process.
Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh, photo: AFP and Reuters
Hamas demands to receive guarantees for the agreement and wants the pauses in the deal, which will be conducted in stages, to lead to a total ceasefire and the end of the war.
Within the organization, there is a debate on whether to insist that this demand appear in the framework agreement itself or whether it is possible to continue discussing the details of this issue at the same time as the first steps of the deal are carried out, provided that there are guarantees from the mediators that a broad truce will create a dynamic that will lead to the end of the war.
Additional demands are related to the restoration of the Gaza Strip and increasing the amount of aid that will come in.
The sources stated that the issue of the prisoners has not yet been discussed.
"It hasn't opened yet."
The sources estimated that Hamas will submit their answer with a comment regarding the cease-fire, which will include a request to receive clarifications regarding the achievement of a full and permanent Hodna.
It is not certain that Sanwar will be able to receive an explicit commitment from the Israelis in this matter.
It is likely that Sinwar will do his cost-benefit calculations, and in the end - maybe even gamble.
For him, this is a crucial decision-making juncture, in the shadow of the military operations that are closing in on him, and also the pressure from the Gazan street that wants to go to a ceasefire.
He himself needs it to regroup.
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