The Hamas Political Bureau Leader “Yahya Sinwar is Ready for Ceasefire”but the Israeli government “obstructs and wants to sabotage (the negotiations) when it comes close to an agreement,” Saudi all-news channel Al-Sharq reported, citing a source in the Palestinian movement.
The source claims that Sinwar’s position “enjoys the support of all members of the political bureau” which includes “an agreement that guarantees a ceasefire, the withdrawal of occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, including the border area with Egypt, the return of displaced persons, the exchange of prisoners and the reconstruction of Gaza.”
NYT: “Israel less flexible on terms of negotiations”
Israelis less flexible at the negotiating table with Hamas, writes the New York Times, which in an article relaunched by the Jerusalem Post tells – on the basis of documents containing Israeli assessments from late July – how Israeli negotiators have become less flexible in recent months regarding the terms of an agreement with Hamas. Documents that would emerge less flexibility than last May. A new round of talks is expected to begin next Thursday.
The Israeli proposal in May, unlike the one in July, did not include – it says – that the IDF would continue to control the southern border of Gaza. And members of the Israeli delegation did not rule out the possibility that the new terms could once again prevent an agreement from being reached.
Critics of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu point the finger at the ‘new’ conditions. They accuse Netanyahu of prioritizing political interests over the release of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip since the attack on Israel on October 7 last year.
The prime minister’s office, it is reported, responded to the newspaper by specifying that it does not question the authenticity of the documents, but denying that the prime minister had added new conditions. “The letter of July 27 does not introduce new terms,” it states. “On the contrary, it includes essential clarifications to help implement the proposal of May 27.” It insists that it was “Hamas that requested 29 changes to the proposal of May 27.”
For Netanyahu’s office, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar “has been and remains the sole obstacle to the hostage deal.” But, according to the NYT, in the July 27 letter, Israeli negotiators included five ‘extra’ points, including a map indicating that Israel would retain control of the ‘Philadelphi Route’, unlike the May text.
There would also be a demand from Israel to screen all displaced Palestinians returning to northern Gaza. And, according to the NYT, Israeli officials and security officials agree with Netanyahu on the need to maintain checkpoints, but many would not be of the opinion that this is worth delaying an agreement.
WSJ: “For Sinwar, truce talks only with halt to operations in Gaza”
If Israel is serious about ceasefire negotiations and wants Hamas to participate in the next round, expected on Thursday, then it must first halt its military operations in the Gaza Strip. That was the content of a message from Sinwar to Arab negotiators last night, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing mediators.
A request, the newspaper highlights, that is unlikely to be accepted by Israel, whose declared objectives are the defeat of Hamas and the release of the hostages held in the Gaza Strip since the attack on October 7. There are said to be 111 people, 39 of whom are believed to be dead. Prime Minister Netanyahu has repeatedly repeated that he wants “total victory over Hamas”. He has also made it clear that an agreement would not prevent Israel from resuming fighting.
Meanwhile, in Cairo, talks continue between an Israeli delegation and their counterparts on ‘solutions’ for the ‘Philadelphi Route’ and the Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
To reach an agreement, the WSJ highlights, the points that still need to be resolved are the identity of the Palestinian prisoners in Israel who would be released on the basis of the agreement, the identity and number of the hostages who would be released, and the management of security for the ‘Netzarim Corridor’, which is controlled by Israel and cuts the Gaza Strip in two.
And, the WSJ highlights, it is not clear whether a possible attack by Iran (the threatened ‘response’ to the killing on 31 July in Tehran of the now ex-political head of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh) could have repercussions on the talks.
The paper also sees the choice of Sinwar, Haniyeh’s ‘heir’, as “another major obstacle” in the talks. And, it concludes, his new position could sideline Hamas figures on more moderate positions in the talks.
Notes, phone calls, loyalists: how Sinwar lives
How is Yahya Sinwar living in the meantime? Notes, but also phone calls when necessary. A small circle of ‘loyalists’ and “flexibility” on negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The pan-Arab daily published in London, Asharq Al-Awsat, tries to tell the story of what would be the life of the heir of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas killed in Tehran on July 31. Sinwar has been in Israel’s sights since the attack on October 7 last year and there has been no certain news of him since that day.
“Hamas sources in Gaza” confirm to Asharq Al-Awsat that no one in the group knows exactly where he is, inside or outside the Gaza Strip. But there is a small circle of “highly trusted” people who act as intermediaries between Sinwar and the rest of the leadership when necessary, “a few people,” the newspaper’s sources say, “who ensure his needs are met and who facilitate communications with the leadership inside and outside Gaza with complex methods.”
Sinwar’s security is said to be entrusted to his brother, Mohammed, a senior commander of Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedin al-Qassam Brigades, the Saudi-owned newspaper writes. And the sources describe Sinwar as being “actively” involved, so much so that a confirmation to Asharq Al-Awsat that Sinwar is in regular contact with the group’s leadership in various ways
Since the beginning of the war, it says, he has regularly sent messages on operations and management of the conflict, ‘instructions’ often handwritten or signed by Sinwar. The political leader of Hamas, the newspaper writes, “had direct telephone contact with Hamas leaders at critical moments”.
And, the source says, Sinwar sent at least two written messages and an audio to intermediaries during crucial stages of the negotiations, always “very involved in every stage of the talks, with careful review of proposals and exchanges of views with Hamas leaders.” And, according to the paper, it was for “flexibility” at various stages of the negotiations.
Now, according to a Hamas source quoted by the Saudi all-news channel Al-Sharq, the leader of the Hamas political bureau “is ready for a ceasefire.”
Two rockets off the coast of Tel Aviv, Hamas claims responsibility
Two long-range rockets were meanwhile fired from Gaza toward central Israel, one of which landed in the sea off the coast of Tel Aviv, while the other, according to the IDF, failed to cross the Gaza border, the Times of Israel reports. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it fired two rockets at Tel Aviv.
Residents in the area reported hearing an explosion. No sirens sounded during the attack, as the rockets were not aimed at populated areas. The last time Hamas fired rockets at Tel Aviv was in late May.
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