Blinken prepares to board the plane during his previous tour in early January (Reuters)

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is scheduled to begin a new tour in the Middle East on Sunday in an effort to achieve an agreement that includes a truce in Gaza and an exchange of prisoners between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), while the potential agreement raises escalating disputes within the war government in Tel Aviv.

The US State Department announced on Friday that Blinken is heading to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Israel, and the West Bank from February 4 to 8.

The ministry added - in a statement - that the Minister of Foreign Affairs will continue efforts to reach an agreement to release all “hostages” and a humanitarian truce in Gaza, and will continue to work to prevent the expansion of the conflict in the region.

Blinken's new tour comes after Qatar and the United States announced progress in negotiations aimed at concluding a deal between Israel and Hamas, the proposals that resulted from talks that took place in Paris with American, Qatari, and Egyptian participation.

The proposal on the table now stipulates the implementation of an expanded truce, including the exchange of about 130 Israeli prisoners in Gaza for a number of Palestinian prisoners in stages, and this may ultimately lead to stopping the war.

Hamas confirmed that it had received the proposal and was in the process of studying it, and the movement had repeatedly stressed that any deal must include a cessation of aggression and the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces from the Gaza Strip.

For her part, the US representative to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said today that her country is working tirelessly with Qatar, Egypt and other regional partners on what she described as a strong and convincing proposal.

In a related development, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, said that the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, discussed with Guterres efforts to end the fighting in Gaza, release detainees, and support humanitarian operations.

Parties threatened to withdraw...disagreements within the Israeli government due to the #Gaza_War#News pic.twitter.com/lgl4UBuX0I

- Al Jazeera Channel (@AJArabic) February 2, 2024

Disagreements in Israel

Meanwhile, the disagreements raised by the proposal regarding a prisoner exchange, a truce in Gaza, and post-war arrangements threaten the collapse of the Israeli war council.

The newspaper "Haaretz" quoted an official in the "Army" party, led by War Council member Benny Gantz, as saying that the party will withdraw from the Israeli emergency government if it gets the impression that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects the prisoner exchange deal for political considerations, and if Netanyahu announces military rule. in Gaza.

Israeli media said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appealed to his partners from the Camp Party led by Benny Gantz not to leave the war government, indicating that this would harm the unity of the Israeli ranks.

Israeli media had reported leaks about what happened in the mini-cabinet session for security and political affairs, which extended until late Thursday evening, and said that Netanyahu resolved the debate between his ministers in the session by confirming what he described as three conditions that Israel cannot accept in order to conclude an exchange deal. New for prisoners with Hamas.

It quoted Netanyahu as saying that his government cannot allow a ceasefire and end the war, and does not agree to the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners, nor will it allow the army to leave the Gaza Strip.

During his visit to wounded soldiers, the Israeli Prime Minister pledged not to end the war before achieving what he called complete victory.

For his part, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid ridiculed the continuous leaks of what happens in cabinet meetings and accused the prime minister of incompetence.

Israeli Channel 12 quoted members of the security mini-ministerial council as saying that the prisoner exchange deal is still far away, and that a large number of ministers expressed their reservations about the duration of the truce and the stages of the deal’s development, noting that the majority of ministers demanded that they be included in the negotiation process and not be informed of it as a fait accompli. .

In this context, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority quoted sources as saying that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed with his former office director how to neutralize the right-wing opposition to the potential prisoner deal.

Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper also quoted a senior Israeli official as saying that the chances of a new prisoner deal do not exceed 50%.

Haniyeh (right) and Al-Nakhal during a previous meeting in Cairo (Anatolia - Archive)

Hamas and Jihad are a condition

Meanwhile, the office of the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, said that the latter communicated today with the Secretary-General of the Islamic Jihad movement, Ziad al-Nakhalah, regarding initiatives to end the aggression against Gaza.

The office added - in a statement - that Haniyeh and Al-Nakhalah stressed the need for any negotiations to lead to an end to the aggression, the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation, the lifting of the siege on the Gaza Strip, and the introduction of all the necessities of life to its people.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies