Netanyahu: "Surrendering to Hamas' demands will not lead to the release of the abductees - but to another massacre"
Last night, Israel sent Egypt and Qatar a response to Hamas' response to the outline for the release of the abductees.
A senior Israeli official said that Israel rejected a large part of Hamas' demands, but expressed a willingness to enter into negotiations on the basis of the original proposal drawn up in Paris a few weeks ago.
why is it important:
The response conveyed to the mediators indicates that despite Prime Minister Netanyahu's harsh public response, Israel is not closing the door to continued negotiations on a possible hostage deal.
Hamas' answer does not allow for serious negotiations. Israeli abductees are taken in a Red Cross vehicle/Reuters
In the news center:
Yesterday, the War Cabinet discussed for several hours the answer of Hamas to the proposal formulated in Paris by Qatar, Egypt, the United States and Israel on the subject of the outline for the release of the kidnapped.
A senior Israeli official said that during the meeting the members of the Israeli negotiating team presented to the ministers the message they wanted to convey to the mediators regarding Hamas' response and the war cabinet ministers approved it.
On Thursday night, after the War Cabinet meeting, talks were held between senior Israeli officials and their counterparts in Qatar, Egypt and the United States during which the Israeli messages were conveyed.
"Surrendering to Hamas' demands will lead to another massacre."
Netanyahu, this week/Government Press Office, no
Behind the Scenes:
A senior Israeli official noted that Israel made it clear to the mediators that, contrary to Hamas's demand, it would not agree to the withdrawal of IDF forces from the "corridor" south of Gaza City that cuts the Gaza Strip in two as early as Phase I of the deal, nor would it agree to the return of the population to the northern part of the Strip. However, there would be Willing to examine the withdrawal of IDF forces from the city centers in the Gaza Strip.
Israel told the mediators that it opposes Hamas's demand to add the words "permanently" to the clause in the Paris outline that states that indirect negotiations on the return to peace will take place in phase I of the deal.
The reason for this is that Israel refuses to commit to ending the war after the implementation of the deal for the release of the abductees is completed.
Israel made it clear to the mediators that it is not ready to discuss as part of the negotiations on the hostage deal what Hamas called in its answer "the lifting of the siege" on Gaza.
Israel emphasized to the mediators that the "key" to the release of the Palestinian prisoners that Hamas presented in its answer is not reasonable.
Israel also clarified that a long list of demands attached in the appendix to Hamas' response, such as commitments regarding the Al-Aqsa Mosque or regarding the conditions of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, are not acceptable and are not relevant to the current deal.
The situation:
A Hamas delegation headed by Ismail Hania's deputy Khalil al-Hiya held talks in Cairo yesterday with senior Egyptian intelligence officials.
Senior Israeli officials said that Israel rejected an Egyptian invitation to send representatives to Cairo, arguing that Hamas' response showed that the gap was too great to negotiate the details.
A senior Israeli official said that members of the Israeli negotiating team are now working with Egypt and Qatar in an attempt to reduce gaps that will allow serious negotiations to take place.
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