The Swiss newspaper Le Tan suggested that the deal reached by Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (agitation) regarding the release of detainees at dawn today, Wednesday; It basically came at the request of the American President joe biden Leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) Yahya Al-SanwarAs a result of popular pressure on the Israeli government, while the American media website Politico talked about the scenes of this deal.
Lotan initially pointed out that the Israeli government confirmed in a statement that it had “agreed on the broad outlines of the first phase of the agreement, and explained in a report written by Aline Jacoté that Israel would obtain the release of 30 children, 8 mothers, and 12 other women, and that Hamas would determine the location of the women and children who were still there.” In the hands of other groups or individuals.
In return, the Palestinians will benefit from a 4-day ceasefire, accompanied by a cessation of Israeli marches for 6 hours a day, and the release of at least 150 Palestinian women and minors. The agreement will also allow 300 humanitarian aid trucks to enter Gaza daily, in addition to providing fuel and financial aid. .
The newspaper believed that the agreement, which was concluded with the mediation of Qatar and the United States, was concluded due to the desire shown by the American President joe biden In achieving tangible things for people, and as a result of “a clear desire of the Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Al-Sanwar“to move forward with the agreement” in the face of increasing military pressure on his movement.
By distinguishing between civilians and soldiers instead of negotiating for everyone in one deal, Hamas – according to the newspaper – can maintain pressure on Israel, which knows very well how to deal with it, guided by the deal to release the Israeli soldier. Gilad Shalit Which achieved the release of 1,027 detainees in exchange for one soldier.
As for the Israeli side, the Minister of Defense and Chief of Staff of the Army realized that “compensation for the failure of October 7 will not end with the occupation of lands and the assassination of “terrorists” – as analyst Amos Harel wrote – but also with an effort to return mothers and children.”
Moti Crystal, an Israeli expert on detainee negotiations, says, “Return the hostages. Return the hostages. Return the hostages. This is all that matters to us now,” noting the necessity of negotiation in the midst of war, and that the mediators, of course, seek to achieve their own interests.
The newspaper concluded that the agreement remained incomplete, because the far-right “Jewish Power” and “Religious Zionism” parties, led by Ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, announced their opposition to the agreement, because “it will reduce the chances of recovering the rest of the kidnapped people, including our soldiers,” which means there is a dispute. Affects the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “It raises great concern among Americans.”
Backstage
Speaking about the scenes of this deal, the American newspaper Politico said that the State of Qatar In its efforts to mediate the issue of detainees, it proposed Forming a small cell between the United States and Israel to work on the hostage issue.
He said that US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was assigned Two of his senior aides, McGurk and Josh Geltzer, were responsible for communicating and coordinating how best to reach an agreement on detainees with Hamas.
He added that the first fruit of those efforts was on the 23rd October/October, when Hamas released two American citizens, Natalie and Judith Ranan, an indication that the work of this cell could eventually lead to the release of more detainees, according to the site.
A day later, Hamas sent a message through its own channels to the cell that a number of detained women and children could leave Gaza, but the problem was that their safe passage abroad could only be secured if Israel refrained from its ground invasion of the Strip.
However, after Israel refused to postpone the ground invasion, a wave of diplomacy began taking place behind closed doors, and the features of the deal were gradually becoming clearer.
Hamas provided information about 50 of its detainees, and explained to Biden that there was a possibility of releasing them. The US President conveyed his views to Netanyahu in a phone call he made with him on November 14, and the latter agreed to that.
Later that day, Netanyahu went after McGurk, telling him how important it was for Israel to complete the agreement, as he had come to see it as a political necessity, according to Politico.
But further complications occurred as Israel cut communications within Gaza during its military operations, making it difficult to transfer any information to and from Hamas. Hamas officials also threatened to end the negotiations entirely after the Israeli army entered the Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza. The talks were not resumed until after Israel, via the cell channel, conveyed a message to Hamas that the Israeli army would continue to operate the hospital.
Meanwhile, Politico says, Biden began to feel that time to achieve something was running out, and on November 17, he called the Emir of Qatar…By Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and told him that he had sent McGurk to him and that he would be in Qatar the next day.
Biden stated that this would enable the final text of the deal agreement to be reviewed, and prior to its arrival, Qatar received comments from Hamas on the proposed deal.
The next morning, McGurk was in Cairo to meet with Abbas Kamel, the head of Egyptian intelligence, and while they were talking, an Egyptian aide entered with a message that Hamas leaders in Gaza had accepted almost everything that had been reached in Doha the night before.
McGurk then returned to Israel on November 19 to speak before the war cabinet, relaying the proposed deal and Hamas’ response to it. That evening, senior Israeli officials informed the United States that they had approved the agreement with only minor changes.
Qatar sent that copy to Hamas, and there was some minor shuttling back and forth over the next 48 hours, but it became clear that all parties would accept the agreement.
On November 21, Hamas gave the green light. All that remained was for the full Israeli Cabinet to approve the deal, which everyone in the cell expected would happen.
News of their signing came later yesterday, Tuesday, November 21, in Washington, bringing an end to efforts to secure that deal, which a senior official commented on as “a painful process that lasted 5 weeks,” and all of this according to the Politico website.
