Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani will meet in Washington with senior American officials (Reuters)
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani heads to Washington as part of a tour to discuss a new prisoner exchange agreement and a ceasefire in Gaza.
According to the American newspaper Al-Monitor, the Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister will meet with senior members of the US administration and senior legislators.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman's visit to Washington comes after an expected visit to the French capital, Paris, during which he will join talks with the participation of the United States, Egypt and Israel to try to reach an agreement regarding the release of detainees in the Gaza Strip, amid leaks indicating the possibility of reaching an agreement between the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas) and Israel.
A security source from a country participating in the negotiations confirmed information reported by the American newspaper The Washington Post, stating that President Joe Biden intends in the near future to send CIA Director Williams Burns to Europe to help reach an “ambitious” agreement that includes the release of... Israeli detainees in the Gaza Strip, and a ceasefire for the longest period since the start of the war.
Yesterday, Friday, the White House expressed its hope for progress in talks to release detainees, and White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that President Biden discussed with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, the latest developments in Israel and Gaza. Including ongoing efforts to release detainees in the Strip.
Leaks and conditions
These movements coincide with leaks indicating the possibility of reaching an agreement between Hamas and Israel. Al Jazeera's correspondent stated that the two ministers in the Israeli War Council, Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, confirmed that the return of detainees in the Gaza Strip is a top priority, during a meeting with the families of the prisoners.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoted an informed source as saying that Hamas and Israel had reached understandings on most of the terms of the prisoner exchange deal agreement, and the outstanding issue is whether or not there will be a ceasefire at the end of the truce, as it will last for 35 days and will include the release of all Israeli prisoners.
Part of the handover of a previous batch of Israeli detainees to the Al-Qassam Brigades (Al-Jazeera)
Israeli Channel 12 said that the Hamas movement set conditions before agreeing to a new prisoner exchange deal, and explained that the conditions include:
100 Palestinian prisoners for every Israeli prisoner.
Complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip.
A truce between 10 and 14 days before releasing any Israeli prisoner.
A two-month cooling-off period between each stage of the deal.
On the seventh of last October, the Palestinian resistance launched an attack on Israeli military points and settlements around the Gaza Strip, during which about 1,200 Israelis were killed, about 5,431 were wounded, and at least 239 were captured, of whom Israel recovered about 105 in an exchange deal and a temporary truce with the Hamas movement that lasted. 7 days and ended in early December 2023.
Since that day, the Israeli occupation army has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, leaving more than 26,000 martyrs, most of them women and children, according to the Ministry of Health in the Strip, and causing massive destruction and an unprecedented humanitarian disaster, according to the United Nations.
Source: Al Jazeera + websites