The Front is the second main faction in the Palestine Liberation Organization after the Fatah movement, to which Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas belongs. The Front joined the fight against Israel after the October 7 attack.
The media advisor to the head of the Hamas Political Bureau, Taher al-Nono, said in a statement to Agence France-Presse, “We are talking first about a comprehensive and complete ceasefire and not about a temporary truce.”
Al-Nono confirmed this in a statement he made after a meeting was held over the weekend in Paris between American, Israeli, Qatari and Egyptian officials as part of efforts to put an end to the battles in the Gaza Strip.
Al-Nono stressed that when the fighting stops, “the rest of the details can be discussed,” including the release of the Israeli hostages still held by Hamas.
Paris negotiations
Negotiators from Israel, the United States, Egypt and Qatar had agreed on a framework for a new exchange deal between Israel and Hamas, according to Israeli sources.
CIA Director William Burns and the US Special Envoy to the Middle East, Brett McGurk, participated in a series of negotiations over the past few days that focused on the release of detainees and reaching a humanitarian truce in the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
A Sky News Arabia correspondent said that in light of the lack of consensus between the two parties, especially over the central point of disagreement, which is Hamas's demand to stop the war, Israel initially agreed to a partial deal and not a comprehensive exchange deal.
Details of the deal according to Israeli sources:
- The first phase includes a truce for 45 days and the release of 35 Israelis in exchange for the release of 100 to 200 Palestinian prisoners for every Israeli.
- Among the prisoners released from Israeli prisons are convicts involved in the killing of Israelis.
- According to the report, the deal will include the release of hostages in batches: women and children first, accompanied by a ceasefire and the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. It will also include the release of Palestinian prisoners.
- The Israeli Military Ministerial Council meets tonight to discuss the deal.
Qatar: We have established a basis for moving forward on the hostage issue
Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said that the hostage talks are improving compared to previous weeks.
He confirmed that progress had been made in the Paris talks on laying the foundation for moving forward on the hostage issue.
He explained that the current stage of the talks may lead to a permanent ceasefire in the future.
The White House: There is a framework for an agreement
The White House said on Monday that talks aimed at releasing a new batch of detainees held by Hamas in Gaza are constructive and promising, but there is still much work to be done.
John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, told CNN: “I think it is fair to describe the talks as constructive… We believe there is a framework for another agreement on hostages. This could make a difference in terms of getting more people out.” hostages, deliver more aid, and actually reduce violence.”
US President Joe Biden seeks to facilitate the release of more than 100 hostages still being held in Gaza after the bloody attack launched by Hamas militants on October 7 on Israeli towns.
Burns met with the head of the Israeli intelligence service Mossad, the Qatari prime minister, and the head of Egyptian intelligence on Sunday in talks that Israel described as constructive, but indicated that there were large gaps.
Kirby said that the discussions that took place with Qatari, Egyptian and Israeli officials were very good.
He added, “We have not crossed the finish line yet… but we feel satisfied with the discussions, their course, and the promise of achieving something that may be very important.”
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