Netanyahu: Israel will maintain full security control over the West Bank and Gaza
The Qatari mediators have informed Israel in recent days that senior Hamas officials are "disappointed" with the outline of the deal for the release of the abductees that was presented in Paris last Friday and emphasized that there is a significant gap between it and their demands, Israeli officials said.
Representatives of the Mossad, the Shin Bet and the IDF today held a first round of talks in Doha, the capital of Qatar, with the Egyptian and Qatari mediators on the humanitarian aspects of the hostage deal.
Demonstration for the release of abductees in Tel Aviv, Mochash/Niv Aharonson
At the same time, the Egyptian and Qatari representatives are holding talks with Hamas representatives, who are also in Doha, in an attempt to pressure them to flex their demands - especially with regard to the quantity and "quality" of the prisoners they demand to be released for each abductee.
"There is no room for much optimism," said an Israeli senior official.
"The progress that Israel achieved with the mediators in Paris did not close the gaps with Hamas. It is difficult to see at this stage how an agreement is reached until Ramadan."
Talks in Qatar will continue tomorrow.
As a reminder, it was announced yesterday that Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed the members of the Israeli negotiating team sent to the talks on the hostage deal to demand that some of the "heavy" prisoners who murdered Israelis and whose release Hamas demands, be deported abroad and not be allowed to return to Gaza or the West Bank.
The updated US outline:
The release of several hundred Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of 35-40 Israeli abductees, including civilian women, female soldiers, men over 50 and abductees in serious medical condition.
The number of prisoners that will be released for each of the female soldiers will be higher than for the other abductees that will be released at this stage and will also include "heavier" prisoners.
For each abductee who is released, Israel will agree to a day of ceasefire, when in total in the first phase of the deal it will be possible to reach a six-week ceasefire.
The American proposal includes an initial and limited return of Palestinian citizens to the northern Gaza Strip from the first stage of implementing the deal, under conditions to be defined later in the negotiations.
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