Haaretz: Serious prisoner exchange deal on table in negotiations round

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli Media
7 Jul 2024 07:52

Haaretz's Sunday editorial reports a promising prisoner exchange deal between "Israel" and the Palestinian Resistance, with growing optimism from Israeli occupation officials.

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You want to receive us as corpses: Israeli captives say to the Israeli occupation war cabinet in a military media video allowing captives to address the Israeli occupation and settlers. (Military media)

In its Sunday editorial titled "The Moment of Public Test," Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed that a serious prisoner exchange deal is currently on the table in "Israel".

The website stated that the deal is expected to involve "the return of some" of the captives, along with an agreed-upon plan for future discussions regarding the release of the remaining captives, while also aiming to prevent the outbreak of a full-scale war in the region.

Haaretz highlighted that the families of the captives, alongside the Israeli settlers, have been waiting for the release of captives being held in the Gaza Strip since October 7, and stressed that they "are already experiencing disappointment."

The newspaper pointed out that this is not the first or second time that the deal seemed close, but repeatedly, for one reason or another, the agreement fails to bear fruit.

However, Haaretz adds, "yet it seems that this time the chances of a deal are greater than ever." It points out that in a meeting held by Israeli Security Minister Yoav Gallant with the families of the captives, following the receipt of Hamas' response to the mediators' offer in the negotiations, the Defense Minister said: 'We are the closest to a deal than ever before."

Agreement in Gaza means a ceasefire in North

The newspaper also noted that international and regional media outlets have reported similar optimism regarding the deal.

Moreover, Haaretz noted that in a meeting between Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas political bureau member Khalil al-Hayya on Friday, Hamas allegedly informed Hezbollah that "it had agreed to the ceasefire proposal.

Haaretz emphasized that at the end of the meeting, a Hezbollah official said "If there is an agreement in Gaza, then there will be a ceasefire in Lebanon."

According to a Hezbollah statement, however, the meeting discussed the course of the ongoing negotiations to reach an end to the aggression on Gaza and to ensure that the Resistance’s conditions that serve the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people are met.

Moreover, the statement underscored that the two sides reaffirmed their united stance and the continuation of efforts in politics, Resistance, and all fields to achieve the Resistance's desired goals.

Moreover according to the Haaretz report, Gallant "is not the only one who feels the seriousness of the possibility of a deal; all the heads of the organizations involved in the negotiations, including the Israeli army, Mossad, Shin Bet, and the Prisoners of War and Missing Persons Center headed by Major General Nitzan Alon, also believe that this time it is possible to bridge the gaps between the positions of the parties in the negotiations."

Haaretz concludes that the alternatives are either to reach a deal and end the conflict or to abandon the captives to their deaths and engage in a full-scale war.

The newspaper also advises the Israeli public that "to overcome Netanyahu and the far-right, the public must make their desire for an agreement" clear. Gallant further added, "We will not allow government ministers to sabotage a deal again."

The Captives' Families Association warned that "if the government sabotages the deal, millions will take to the streets. The families must not be left alone in this battle; they must be joined in demanding from the government: A deal now."

Axios: 'Israel' will not accept Hamas request for written commitment

The director of the Israeli Mossad intelligence agency David Barnea told mediators that "Israel" will not accept Hamas' request for a written commitment regarding ceasefire negotiations in the second phase of the proposed deal, Israeli officials told Axios.

Senior Israeli officials said that the major gap that has been unresolved between the two sides revolves around the framework of Article 14 of the Israeli proposal.

The clause concerns the duration of negotiations that the Palestinian Resistance and the Israeli occupation are supposed to start during the first stage of the agreement. These negotiations should lead to an agreement on the terms of the second phase of the agreement.

The original language of Article 14 states that mediators, including the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, will "make every effort" to ensure this round of negotiations ends in an agreement and the ceasefire continues as long as the negotiations continue.

Hamas demanded that the mediators not only "make every effort" but "ensure" that negotiations end in an agreement.

A US official told Axios that the Biden administration suggested a compromise and offered the use of the word "undertake," which it views as less binding than the word "ensure" and more binding than "make an effort."

However, Hamas has insisted on several occasions that it wants the guarantees of mediators to be inked into the deal, in clear language that ensures the other side's commitment to the deal's clauses.

Israeli negotiators believe that if such wording was included in the deal, the Palestinian Resistance could conduct negotiations in the second phase indefinitely. This would then make it very difficult for Israeli occupation forces to resume their attacks on the Gaza Strip if negotiations fail, as it would be viewed as a breach of the agreement.