Axios: Mossad chief met with Qatari PM for captive talks
3 Min Read
According to sources, CIA director Bill Burns and Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel were briefed on the meeting and are helping in the renewed push for a captive deal.
-
Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern occupied Palestine, Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023 (AP Photo)
According to Axios, Israeli Mossad spy agency head David Barnea met with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Friday night in Europe to discuss continuing negotiations to release captives held in Gaza.
Two days ago, the Saudi Elaph news website revealed that a European capital is hosting secret meetings between an Israeli and a Qatari delegation to discuss a new prisoner-captive exchange deal with Hamas.
Sources close to the discussions said they are "just the beginning" and that the process will be "long, difficult, and complicated."
CIA director Bill Burns and Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel were briefed on the meeting and are helping in the renewed push for a captive deal, the sources added.
Israeli media reported on Friday that the US National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, held a two-hour meeting with the head of the Mossad, David Barnea, and discussed the possibility of initiating an additional deal related to a new prisoner-captive exchange.
Israeli media quoted a US official as stating that the United States is in discussions with the involved parties regarding various initiatives to revive a new prisoner-captive exchange.
According to Axios, Qatari mediators approached Israeli officials last weekend to see whether there was potential to resume indirect negotiations with Hamas regarding a fresh arrangement, particularly whether the occupation would agree to a compromise that would enable the release of the other female captives in exchange for a longer-than-a-day break in the war.
Thousands of Israelis take to streets after IOF killed 3 captives
Various reports indicate that Barnea wanted to travel to Qatar but faced opposition from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other cabinet members.
The possible change of heart to allow Barnea to engage in renewed captive talks could be a result of the enormous blunder undertaken by the Israeli occupation forces in which it killed 3 Israeli captives.
The Israeli occupation military stated that its troops shot and killed three captives held by the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza on Friday during battles in al-Shujaiya after "mistakenly" identifying them as a threat.
In response, thousands of Israeli captives' families protested on Friday evening in "Kaplan" Street, now known as the "Hostages Square" in "Tel Aviv", demanding that their government restart negotiations for a new prisoner exchange deal with the Palestinian Resistance, according to Israeli media.
To make matters worse for the occupation, an initial inquiry, as cited by an IOF official, shows that the three Israeli captives killed "mistakenly" in Gaza by the IOF were holding up a white flag.
Following news that Israel killed 3 captives in Shujaiya, families of captives and supporters hold emergency protest outside military HQ in Tel Aviv demanding Netanyahu make an immediate deal with Hamas.
— Dan Cohen (@dancohen3000) December 15, 2023
“All of them now!”
“Today we learned what happens when there is no deal”… pic.twitter.com/FzeqUXl9IJ
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
