Hassan Al-Warfalli (Gaza, Cairo)
The United States of America announced that the proposal submitted by the Palestinian factions regarding a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip is within the limits of what is possible, indicating that the talks are moving in the right direction. This came while the Palestinian factions presented their vision for reaching a truce agreement with Israel.
John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said, “The truce and ceasefire proposal presented by the Palestinian factions certainly falls within the broad outlines of the agreement that we have been working on now for several months.”
“We're cautiously optimistic that things are moving in the right direction, but that doesn't mean it's done,” Kirby told reporters.
Palestinian sources familiar with the truce negotiations in the Gaza Strip announced yesterday that Israel is showing flexibility regarding the return of displaced Palestinians to the northern Gaza Strip, but it still refuses to stop the war completely, while Palestinian sources confirmed that the new paper presented by the factions to the mediators in the negotiations includes submitting Facilitations in the prisoner issue in exchange for stopping the war, while the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considered that the factions’ demands “are still unrealistic.”
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office indicated yesterday that the negotiating delegation will leave for Doha, after the government discusses Tel Aviv's position.
The Palestinian sources said that the factions agreed to release all the Israeli civilians detained by them, along with all the female soldiers, in the first stage, in exchange for the release of a thousand prisoners, including 150 of those sentenced to life imprisonment, according to the principle of seniority.
The paper that the factions handed over to the mediators stipulated that the exchange of prisoners would take place in three stages, each of which included a ceasefire for a period of 42 days, provided that a complete cessation of the war would be announced with the start of the second stage of the prisoner exchange, which includes all detained Israeli soldiers and officers. They number about 60.
The paper submitted by the factions stressed the return of the displaced to the northern Gaza Strip without passing through the military checkpoints that they demanded to be removed on the roads leading from the south to the north, and showed flexibility in having Israeli reconnaissance planes photograph the returnees to ensure that armed factions do not return to the north.
Regarding the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, the third phase of the agreement, as stated in the factions’ paper, stipulated the complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the commencement of reconstruction.
The negotiations stopped on the eve of the month of Ramadan, after Israel rejected four of the demands of the Palestinian factions, which were a complete cessation of the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the heart of the Gaza Strip to the border, the return of all displaced persons to the north, and an increase in humanitarian aid to 500 trucks per day.
The sources stated that the factions are open to discussing different formulas to stop the war, but they are determined to achieve this as a central goal.
The Palestinian factions presented, earlier, to the mediators a vision for a ceasefire in Gaza that includes a first phase that includes the release of women, children, the elderly, and sick Israelis, in exchange for the release of a number ranging from 700 to a thousand Palestinian prisoners, including 10 who are serving life sentences and high sentences. .
In a related context, the United States submitted a modified version of a proposal for an immediate and sustainable ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, removing the reference to a period of “6 weeks,” and affirming the commitment to the vision of a “two-state solution.”
The new draft resolution submitted by Washington to the UN Security Council supports international diplomatic efforts to achieve an immediate and sustainable ceasefire as part of a deal that releases detainees and provides the basis for a more sustainable peace.
The United States mission distributed the fifth version of its draft resolution on Gaza to the members of the Council the day before yesterday, with a date for voting on it to be determined later.
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