Israel’s official broadcaster quoted Israeli and U.S. officials as saying Washington was preparing a new proposal and would present it to Tel Aviv and a mediator, “despite a lack of optimism that a deal will be finalized anytime soon.” Washington called it a “last chance offer,” according to officials.
Israeli and U.S. officials said Saturday they were “not optimistic” about Washington reaching a prisoner swap deal with Palestinian forces in the Gaza Strip, a proposal that could be presented today, Sunday or within the next few days, according to the officials.
The U.S. settlement proposal covers all the points of contention, especially the Philadelphia corridor between Gaza and Egypt, officials told the official broadcasting authority.
CIA Director William Burns said Saturday that the United States is working with Qatar and Egypt to discuss a new, more detailed proposal for a prisoner exchange agreement and ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that will be presented to Hamas and Israel in the coming days.
“Negotiations are ongoing over the number of high-ranking Palestinian prisoners who would be released as part of a potential deal, rather than the total number of prisoners currently held in Israeli prisons,” a Palestinian source told Israel’s official broadcaster, without mentioning his name. They will be released.” The sources said Hamas had not changed the number of prisoners it sought for release in the deal and was sticking to existing conditions.
This comes at a time when ceasefire talks in Gaza have reached a critical stage, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisting that the Strip War continue and no withdrawal from the Netzarim and Philadelphia axes in central and southern Gaza. Hamas is calling for an end to the war, the return of refugees, and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the entire strip.
With U.S. support, Israel is waging a devastating war in the Gaza Strip that has left more than 135,000 dead and wounded (mostly children and women) and more than 10,000 missing. Israel continues its war in defiance of the UN. A Security Council resolution to immediately stop this and an order from the International Court of Justice to take steps to prevent acts of genocide and improve the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza.
