Points of contention obstruct swap deal, Smotrich warns of 'trap' | News

A US official said that a limited number of points of contention prevent the reaching of a prisoner exchange deal between the Islamic Resistance Movement (agitation) and Israel, and this came after an invitation from Qatar, Egypt and the United States to resume negotiations in the middle of this month, an invitation that was met with international acclaim and rejection by the Israeli Finance Minister. Bezalel Smotrich.

The Associated Press quoted American diplomats as saying: Negotiations over a swap deal were nearing a breakthrough shortly before Israel assassinated Hamas's political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh And the leader in Hezbollah Fouad Shukr.

A senior US official told the agency that there are only four or five points of contention regarding the implementation of the exchange deal that still need to be resolved.

For its part, the Wall Street Journal quoted a senior American official as saying that there is still a great deal of work to overcome the complex issues between Hamas and Israel, but he stressed that “there is enough room for negotiation.”

Tripartite statement

This came after a joint statement – by the Qatari Emiri Diwan, the White House and the Egyptian Presidency – affirmed that the time has come to put an end to it. Immediately, to the continued suffering of the population Gaza Strip And for the martyrs and their families.

The statement said that Doha, Cairo and Washington She has been working for months to reach an agreement that is now on the table, and all that is missing are the details of implementation. He added that no more time should be wasted and that there should be no excuses from any party for further postponement.

These countries confirmed that they are prepared, in their position as mediators, to put forward a final proposal to settle implementation-related issues, if necessary.

The tripartite statement explained that Qatar, Egypt and the United States called on the two parties (the Palestinian resistance and Israel) to resume talks in the middle of this month in Doha or Cairo to bridge the gaps.

He pointed out that the agreement is based on Principles proposed by the US President Joe Biden On May 31, 2017, and supported by Security Council Resolution 2735.

A senior US administration official ruled out signing an agreement next week, as serious issues remain, including the sequence of exchanges between Hamas and Israel. He added that there is a need for action from both sides of the table.

The US official said that the tripartite statement was not intended to influence Iran, but any escalation would undermine hopes of reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

While French President Emmanuel Macron and European Union foreign policy coordinator Josep Borrell expressed their support for the mediators’ statement and their demand for the necessity of stopping the war in Gaza, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan considered that “everyone who supports Israel unconditionally is complicit in the ongoing crime in Gaza,” calling for “stopping the Netanyahu government in its tracks” because the region cannot tolerate more unrest.

Netanyahu and Smotrich

According to the Prime Minister's Office Benjamin Netanyahu Israel will send a negotiating team in the middle of this month to the place agreed upon by the mediators to participate in determining the terms and framework of a deal with Hamas.

Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu's approval to resume negotiations to complete the exchange deal was due to American pressure not to postpone its conclusion.

In contrast, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich strongly criticized the mediators' statement, He said in a post on the X platform that the proposed agreement represents pressure on Israel to stop the war, surrender and lose its deterrent power.

Smotrich added that we must not fall into the “trap of mediator countries that are trying to dictate to Israel a surrender agreement that wastes Israeli blood that was shed in a just war.”

Smotrich demanded that the Prime Minister not agree to the proposed deal and not back down from the red lines he had set in this regard. He believed that the war should not stop before “annihilating Hamas.”

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has continued to wage a devastating war on Gaza, leaving more than 131,000 dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, in addition to widespread destruction of infrastructure and an unprecedented humanitarian disaster.