A new round of talks on a potential ceasefire in Gaza is expected in the Qatari capital on Monday.
The Israeli negotiating team, headed by Mossad chief David Barnea, will be landing in Doha on Monday, Zionist media reported.
Reuters news agency quoted an Israeli official as saying that the talks are designed to secure a six-week Gaza truce under which the Palestinian resistance would free 40 Israeli captives held in Gaza.
This stage of the negotiations could take at least two weeks, the official estimated, citing difficulties that Hamas’ foreign delegates may have in communicating with the group in the besieged enclave.
Talks will kick off later on Monday with a meeting between Barnea, Qatar Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Egyptian envoys, a source told AFP.
“There is going to be a long and complex process here,” an Israeli official tells Channel 12, explaining that though they will be engaged in indirect talks with Hamas’s leadership in Doha, they really need to be speaking to the resistance group’s Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar.
The Israeli cabinet last night approved Tel Aviv’s “red lines, in order to allow the delegation to hold the negotiations,” The Times of Israel quoted an Israeli official as saying.
The official did not expand on what those red lines were.
The Israeli daily cited sources who were in the cabinet debate last night as saying it was a “good discussion” that drilled down into details, and gave the negotiating team a “mandate that allows real negotiations.”
Meanwhile, Israeli officials told Hebrew media that Barnea’s team has a “broad mandate” to hammer out a hostage deal in indirect negotiations, with one source saying both sides will need to show flexibility.
The new round on Monday would be the first indirect negotiations between Israeli officials and Hamas leaders since the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began on March 11. An earlier round of talks ended in failure after the Israeli occupation rejected Hamas’ demand for a deal that would lead to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Hamas reportedly presented a new set of demands on Thursday ahead of planned talks in Doha, Qatar, including the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and a possible agreement on a permanent truce. In return, Hamas would begin releasing Israeli hostages, including women, the sick and the elderly, as well as female Israeli soldiers, media reports said. In a second phase, Hamas would release the remaining Israeli hostages and soldiers, according to media reports.
Source: Agencies and Israeli media
