Sources dissect contentious pts raised by Israeli delegation in Rome

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
29 Jul 2024 23:15
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Palestinian officials speak to Al Mayadeen and clarify some of the details behind the recent Rome meeting between Israeli negotiators and mediators.

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Palestinian Resistance fighters march in a military drill organized by the Joint Palestinian Operations Room, in Rafah, the Gaza Strip, Palestine, on December 29, 2021. (AP)

In Rome, the Israeli occupation insists on several clauses that have put the negotiation process at risk, as information communicated to the Palestinian Resistance by mediators shows that the Israeli Prime Minister is once again evading a lasting agreement.

Al Mayadeen spoke with multiple Palestinian sources on Monday to further clarify the details of the latest talks between Israeli, American, Qatari, and Egyptian officials under Italian sponsorship.

'Impossible' terms for prisoner exchange deal

A Palestinian source told Al Mayadeen that the Israeli occupation insists on its previous position of refusing to release a number of Palestinian detainees serving life sentences in Israeli prisons, as well as others serving 15-plus years.

The Israeli negotiator, commissioned by Prime Minister Netanyahu, also held on to a clause dictating that several Palestinian detainees, to be released in a prisoner exchange deal, would be banished outside Palestine or the Gaza Strip.

Many of the detainees that the Palestinian Resistance is negotiating to release are natives of the occupied West Bank, such as imprisoned leader Marwan Barghouti. It has been reported that Barghouti, who is highly popular among Palestinians, would not be allowed back to the West Bank by Israeli authorities.

Israeli presence within the Strip

The Palestinian source also spoke to Al Mayadeen about certain clauses related to Israeli occupation forces' presence in the Gaza Strip and their operations.

"The occupation remains firm in its stance, refusing to withdraw from the Philadelphi Route and the Rafah crossing," the source explained.

The Philadelphi Axis is a narrow 14 km long zone splitting Palestine from Egypt and was established as a buffer zone between "Israel" and Egypt in a 1979 treaty. The zone extends from the Israeli-controlled Karem Abu Salem crossing, linking the Gaza Strip and occupied territories, to the southernmost point on the Gaza Strip's coast.

The Rafah border crossing is the main point of entry and exit from and to the Gaza Strip and was previously under joint Palestinian-Egyptian control, before the Israeli regime occupied it in early May 2024.

Both corridors aid "Israel's" siege on the Palestinian people and are seen as strategic positions to maintain Israeli occupation forces' operational capabilities in the southernmost city of Rafah.

Moreover, the source told Al Mayadeen that Israeli authorities insist that it maintains checkpoints between the northern Gaza Strip and the rest of the territory as alleged inspection and monitoring points.

As revealed by the source, the Israeli negotiator insisted that occupation forces maintain these points during the return of forcibly displaced Palestinians from central and southern areas to the northern Gaza Strip, which includes Gaza City, Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun, and Jabalia, among other neighborhood and towns.

"Israel" justifies this demand by saying that it intends "to ensure that [returning Palestinians] are not carrying weapons."

Another top Palestinian Resistance official confirmed the aforementioned to Al Mayadeen.

Hamas communicates the latest updates to Palestinian factions

The top official told Al Mayadeen that the Islamic Resistance Movement - Hamas sent a message to the leaders of other Palestinian Resistance factions, updating them on the latest developments in the negotiations process.

The leader said that Hamas received a summary of the proceedings in the Rome meeting.

Furthermore, Hamas' message delved into the previously mentioned clauses and demands of the Israeli negotiating team.

The message also pointed to discussions between the head of the Israeli Mossad, David Barnea, and mediators, in which the mediating parties asked him for clarifications and a definitive, clear stance on the aforementioned issues.