PNN – Negotiations for the release of prisoners in Gaza have been stopped due to the refusal of the Zionist authorities to accept the demands of Hamas.
According to the International group of Pakistan News Network, The American channel “NBC” reported, quoting an informed diplomat, that Israel is not willing to accept Hamas’s request to establish a permanent ceasefire, and for this reason, negotiations on the release of prisoners in Gaza remain deadlocked.
According to this report, the American, Qatari and Egyptian authorities still insist on a bilateral agreement between Hamas and the Zionist regime in order to release the prisoners held by Hamas in Gaza.
However, Hamas wants a permanent ceasefire, the complete withdrawal of the Zionist forces from Gaza and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners who are being held by the Zionists.
In an interview with NBC, a Hamas official stated that he will not do anything until he receives a promise to stop the war and withdraw Israeli troops from Gaza. He clarified: “This is the core of the negotiations.”
Despite promising the families of prisoners held by Hamas that they would try to free them, Israeli authorities rejected Hamas’ request for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza last week, according to a senior Israeli official.
On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Sunday) openly opposed the request for a permanent ceasefire and said in a press conference: “I completely reject the terms of Hamas’ surrender.”
He continued: “If I agree to such a thing, we cannot guarantee the safety of our citizens… The next October 7th (the beginning of the Al-Aqsa storm operation) will repeat itself with the passage of time.”
However, a diplomat from a third party involved in the talks related to the release of the prisoners said that some mechanism for the exchange of prisoners has been agreed upon in the future.
Read more:
Israeli Minister: Opening a war front with Hezbollah was a mistake
He, who asked not to be named, said: “Most of the details have been agreed upon.” The main obstacle is Israel’s reluctance to agree to a permanent ceasefire.
The diplomat says: “The agreement includes a month-long cessation of hostilities, during which the hostages (captives) will be released in phases in exchange for the Palestinian prisoners.”
However, an Israeli official described the diplomat’s statement as “bullshit”.
On the other hand, the spokesman of the American National Security Council, John Kirby, told the “MSNBC” channel yesterday about the negotiation process: “I wish I could say a deal is imminent…I don’t think it is right now, but I can say we’re working on it every day.”
Israeli Gershon Baskin, who has been acting as a mediator with Hamas for decades, says that Hamas officials want the release of all Palestinian prisoners who are being held in Tel Aviv. It is estimated that 10,000 Palestinian prisoners are in Israeli custody. 100 Palestinian prisoners were arrested during the October 7th Al-Aqsa storm operation, and about five thousand Palestinians were also arrested since October 7th on charges of supporting Hamas in the West Bank.
A diplomat in the know says the “day after war” debate is separate from the POW deal and is moving in a separate direction.
“We are talking about the formation of a technocrat government, unity with the national authority to oversee the reconstruction process, unification of Palestinian institutions and preparation for elections,” a Hamas official said.
However, there are different opinions about the role played by Hamas, the columnist of Yediot Aharonot Nadav Eyal says: “The Israelis do not want to surrender to Hamas and declare that they have accepted defeat.”
However, the recent statements of Zionist officials are different from Eyal’s statements, as one of the former chiefs of staff of the Zionist regime, Gadi Eisenkot, said that the release of prisoners is preferable to the destruction of Hamas.
In an interview with “Uvda” TV channel, he said: “For me, the mission to save civilians is before killing the enemy.”