Yedioth Ahronoth reported that an Israeli official confirmed Tel Aviv's readiness to release significant Palestinian prisoners, including those convicted of murder, as senior US intelligence and defense officials commence a diplomatic round aimed at reviving talks on a new prisoner exchange deal.
According to the newspaper, Israel has made the decision to proceed towards a new deal with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) following the killing of 3 detainees in the Shejaiya neighborhood in the Gaza Strip last Friday by the Israeli army. The report noted that Israel acknowledges the high price Hamas demands for the release of the detainees and is prepared to free prisoners of a higher caliber compared to the previous deal.
The publication also cited US officials saying that President Joe Biden believes the time has come to strike a prisoner swap deal, considering the return of the detainees a supreme goal.
The newspaper views Israel's decision to renew negotiations for the release of prisoners as risky, including the potential impact on the Israeli military's ground operation in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant asserted that military action is the only measure that can pressure Hamas. Meanwhile, the movement states that there will be no negotiations as long as the fighting continues. However, there now appear to be steps taken towards a potential deal.
Israel still adheres to three principles: negotiations with Hamas will proceed simultaneously with the ongoing operation in the sector, with temporary ceasefires but no prisoner release; negotiations are to resume from where they were halted in the previous round; and any new deal must include specific categories.
Israel is willing to release elderly detainees, women, and those with medical conditions, and insists on reaching an agreement to release only living prisoners.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (center) met yesterday with Netanyahu (second from right) and other members of the Israeli war council (Anadolu)
American Efforts
On Monday, American officials, including the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) William Burns, traveled to Warsaw to meet with the Director of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service, David Barnea, and Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, according to American and Egyptian officials. An American official stated these meetings are an attempt to resume discussions about the prisoners.
Also on Monday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Q. Brown met with Netanyahu and other members of the Israeli war council.
Last month's discussions in Qatar's capital, Doha, which involved Burns and the Mossad director, along with senior Qatari officials, were part of negotiations that led to the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and a week-long ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in late November.
During the ceasefire, Hamas released over 100 Israeli detainees including women, children, and foreigners held in Gaza, in exchange for Israel releasing 240 female and minor Palestinian prisoners.
Israel says there are still 129 detainees in Gaza, a figure that includes the bodies of 21 soldiers and civilians, which Israel concluded are no longer alive.
Hamas leader Osama Hamdan stated on Monday that the movement has informed Qatari and Egyptian mediators it will not resume prisoner talks with Israel unless its war in Gaza is halted. Hamdan mentioned this at a press conference in Beirut, saying, "We are against any partial measures. It is the occupation that obstructs the process."
Meanwhile, families of detainees in Gaza staged a sit-in near the entrance to the Israeli Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv for 241 seconds, symbolizing the number of their loved ones detained at the start of the war, as part of their ongoing movement demanding a prisoner exchange deal and the return of the detainees. The families have since moved their sit-in to the main entrance of the Ministry of Defense, announcing they will stay put until a new direction for a swap deal is announced.
The families of the Israeli prisoners continue their sit-in in front of the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv, demanding the completion of an exchange deal. The Israeli Prisoners' Families Authority announced that families of soldiers who were killed during the war in Gaza have joined the protests and support the demand for the release of their children. Our correspondent Najwan Samri reported on the atmosphere in front of the Ministry of Defense.
The Israeli Channel 12 reported that the Israeli government's prisoner affairs official asked the families, during a meeting, to stop the protests demanding the return of their loved ones, assuring them that the government is doing everything in its power to achieve this.
