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'The Bloody Document': How Netanyahu's tactics killed Israeli captives

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
2 Sep 2024 14:24
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Netanyahu has steered negotiations to a dead end, killing six Israeli captives that could have been released were it not for his tactics.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to right-wing opposition party members, at the Knesset, in occupied al-Quds, occupied Palestine, on June 14, 2021. (AP)

The Israeli Prime Minister's negotiating tactics cost "Israel" the lives of at least three captives who could have been released in a prisoner exchange deal with the Palestinian Resistance in May this year, Israeli media reported on Monday.

The details of a document submitted by Netanyahu's negotiating team to mediators have been revealed by the senior political and military analyst for the Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, Ronen Bergman.

Bergman's article clarified why Israeli officials and the families of captives quickly blamed the Israeli Prime Minister for the death of six captives, as announced by Israeli authorities on Sunday.

What Bergman dubbed "The Bloody Document" is a series of communications submitted by Netanyahu to mediators, who in turn, ran the prime minister's proposals to Hamas officials, leading the Palestinian Resistance's negotiating team in May.

At the time, Hamas agreed to most of Netanyahu's terms, which shocked the top Israeli officials, who then sought to make a series of "clarifications", which, in fact, comprised drastic changes that made a deal impossible.

"This document is dipped in the blood of the six murdered abductees," a senior Israeli official to Yedioth Ahronoth.

Israeli security and military officials have reportedly warned the Prime Minister against delaying a deal with the Palestinian Resistance, warning of the exact scenario that unraveled on Sunday, after more than 330 days of the war on Gaza.

The clarification document, now dubbed "The Blood Document," was submitted by Netanyahu's negotiating team, headed by Mossad Chief David Barnea to mediators in Rome, Italy, in late July, which later became known as the Rome talks.

In the aftermath of the Rome talks, Palestinian Resistance officials condemned Netanyahu's continued erratic maneuvers and his attempts to escape a final deal with the Palestinian Resistance. Hamas insisted that the Resistance would only accept a deal based on what it had agreed to in May this year.

Fast forward to today, Bergman's article provides an in-depth insight into what Hamas called May's proposal, revealing that Netanyahu was instrumental in steering the negotiations into a dead end.

What is 'The Bloody Document'?

There is yet no detailed information regarding the clarifications made by Netanyahu, however, what is known is that key modifications and additions made to previous proposals made a deal impossible.

The clarification submitted on the afternoon of July 27 included a comprehensive seven-page document outlining updated clauses, altering the proposals made earlier in May, specifically concerning the list of names for a prisoner exchange deal with the Palestinian Resistance.

"At the top of the document, it says that it is a 'clarification document', but in my opinion, the most appropriate nickname for it is the 'blood document' - because its pages are stained with the blood of the six abductees who were murdered in a tunnel in Rafah," a senior Israeli official told the Israeli newspaper.

Four of the names listed in the document's appendix were revealed to have been killed nearly a month after the "clarifications" were made.

The document was "born in sin," the Israeli official said, as it was an attempt by Netanyahu to "torpedo" the positive moment experienced in negotiating rooms. The Israeli official also says that the document was created for the purpose of defeating any prisoner exchange deal with the Palestinian Resistance.

Far-right minister Smotrich: A key accomplice and instigator

The newspaper goes on to explain that Israeli Finance Minister and renowned extremist, Bezalel Smotrich, played a key role in forging the document. For the far-right minister, Hamas' positive outlook and agreement to the proposal made by "Israel" itself in late May was a sign of weakness. The far-right official pushed for the rejection of "Israel's" own proposal even before Hamas submitted its official detailed response to mediators.

The newspaper explained that in the aftermath of the meeting in May, the Prime Minister's office rushed to spew disinformation, such as claiming that Hamas had "blatantly" rejected the initial proposal, contradicting statements issued by the movement itself.

Netanyahu and the Philadelphi Corridor

The key aspect of the seven-page document that is said to have derailed negotiations was an outline submitted by Israeli authorities of points it would hold along the strategic Philadelphi Corridor, which extends from the Israeli-controlled Karem Abu Salem crossing to Rafah's coast and passes through the Rafah border crossing.

Netanyahu's insistence on occupying points along the corridor is said to be the main reason that derailed negotiations. Other demands included the names and number of Palestinian prisoners to be released in a prisoner exchange deal.

As stated by Yedioth Ahrenoth, "In the original Israeli proposal, it was promised that the IDF would withdraw from the entire Strip."

"Hamas was verbally told by the mediating countries that the withdrawal includes the Philadelphia axis," the newspaper added.

Several maps attached to "the bloody document" showed that Israeli occupation forces would instead remain there. According to the senior official, five of the six points written in the document were intended to sabotage negotiations.

This move was perceived as an attempt to sabotage the deal by introducing new, contentious elements, such as additional verification procedures and new topics like the Rafah crossing. These changes stalled the negotiations, leading to a two-week delay in drafting the document and further postponements in scheduled meetings.

The document was submitted after the Israeli government's backtracking from the original proposal shocked Qatari mediators. The Qatari mediators were surprised and dissatisfied with Netanyahu's tactics. Specifically, the Qatari prime minister expressed surprise at the situation and requested that all discussed issues be put in writing and delivered centrally to the mediators. He indicated that until Israel complied with this request, there was no point in continuing the negotiations.

On Sunday, Netanyahu's efforts to disrupt negotiations, came to fruition, as the bodies of six captives, three of whom would have been released in the initial phase of a prisoner exchange deal, were recovered.