Hamas insists on a permanent cessation of the war to implement any prisoner exchange agreement (French)

Washington -

After his meeting with the King of Jordan yesterday, Monday, US President Joe Biden tweeted on the “X” platform, saying, “I give you my word, I am working day and night to return all detainees to their homes, alleviate the humanitarian crisis, end the terrorist threat, and bring peace to Gaza and Israel, and a lasting peace with... Two states for two peoples."

Biden's "ambitious" statements came at a time when ways to reach a new deal to release prisoners became complicated after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected last week a proposal from the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) for a 135-day ceasefire that would include a phased exchange of detainees and prisoners from both sides, and the withdrawal of forces. The eventual occupation of Gaza.

Before a new round of negotiations was held in Cairo on Tuesday, with the participation of the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the Prime Minister, the Qatari Foreign Minister, and the leaders of the Israeli and Egyptian intelligence services, Netanyahu described Hamas’ perceptions of the deal as “fake.”

Netanyahu stressed that the war will not end until the movement is “destroyed,” and that he will not accept any proposal that would allow it to maintain control over any part of the Gaza Strip, as he claimed.

Great progress

A senior Biden administration official told reporters after a phone call between Biden and Netanyahu on Sunday evening that they spoke in detail about a looming military operation in the city of Rafah in Gaza, referring to their talk about another possible detainee deal with Hamas that had achieved “significant progress.”

The Hamas movement holds approximately 130 Israeli detainees and prisoners, including 8 Americans, and their release will be considered a diplomatic victory for President Biden, which he desperately needs, but carrying out an Israeli ground incursion into the city of Rafah will thwart efforts aimed at reaching a new deal.

The Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV channel reported on Sunday, quoting a leadership source in the movement, that “the attack on Rafah means the destruction of the negotiations that have been going on for weeks,” and that “Netanyahu is trying to evade the obligations of the exchange deal by committing genocide and a new humanitarian catastrophe.” In Rafah.”

Hamas confirms that it still demands that any agreement for detainees include a comprehensive ceasefire that would end the war in Gaza and lead to reconstruction efforts and lifting the siege, but Israel says it will not commit to ending the war as part of any agreement.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken acknowledged - a few days ago - that Washington will continue to press to reach a temporary truce to stop the fighting and release detainees, and that there is a lot of work that needs to be done.

Optimism

With both Netanyahu and Hamas unwilling to make concessions, the Israeli aggression continues as an Israeli incursion into the city of Rafah approaches, which currently hosts at least 1.4 million displaced Palestinians.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that Israel's focus of ground operations on Rafah could "double the humanitarian nightmare with huge, indescribable regional consequences."

At the same time, the foreign ministers of Qatar and the United States - separately - expressed their optimism about what Doha considered a generally positive response from Hamas to the detainees deal proposal.

Blinken stated that he believes the deal is still within reach despite Prime Minister Netanyahu's previous comments in which he rejected Hamas' counteroffer.

Blinken said in a press conference at the conclusion of his recent tour in the region, "We had the opportunity to discuss - with the Israeli government - the response sent by Hamas to the proposal drawn up by the United States, Qatar and Egypt to release the remaining detainees and extend the humanitarian truce."

He added, "What I can tell you is that while there are some clear issues that do not affect Hamas' response, we believe that it creates space to reach an agreement, and we will work on that relentlessly until we get there."

Netanyahu's obstacle

In turn, Robert House, a legal expert at New York University, believes that the agreement means an end to hostilities, and that this will lead to elections in Israel, which means an end to Netanyahu’s political career, so he will never agree to stop the war.

Martin Indyk - who is responsible for the peace negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians during the era of former US President Barack Obama and currently an expert at the Council on Foreign Relations - also attacked Netanyahu.

He said in a tweet on the “X” platform, “Netanyahu’s insistence on absolute victory over Hamas, his rejection of its conditions for exchanging detainees, and his downplaying of the importance of returning them all indicate that he is no longer looking for a deal with the movement.”

Meanwhile, the families of those still detained and prisoners of war are appealing to the Israeli Prime Minister to approve the exchange deal.

Source: Al Jazeera