Egyptian sources announce a new round of negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas
Israel and Hamas will resume negotiations for a ceasefire tomorrow, Sunday or Monday, Egyptian government sources have informed the AP agency, according to the British newspaper. The Guardian. The talks have been stalled for a week, after both parties, with the mediation of Egypt, the United States and Qatar, failed in Cairo in their attempt to achieve a truce before the start of Ramadan, which began last Sunday. This new round will take place in Qatar, according to these sources.
It will then be the first time that the representatives of Israel and Hamas will see each other since the Muslim holy month began, since the Tel Aviv envoys did not go to Cairo for last week's negotiations.
However, contacts have been maintained indirectly in recent days. Mediators are trying to get both sides to commit to a ceasefire of about 40 days, during which there should be an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas on Thursday offered a three-phase plan. The first, according to Egyptian sources, would be a six-week ceasefire, in which there would be the release of 35 hostages – women, the sick and the elderly – held by the militants in exchange for 350 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. In addition, Hamas would free five female Israeli soldiers in exchange for 250 prisoners, including some with long sentences in Israel for terrorism. In this first phase, Israel would withdraw from Gaza's two main roads and allow the return of displaced Palestinians to the north of the Strip and the free flow of humanitarian aid to the area.
In a second phase, the two sides would declare a permanent ceasefire and Hamas would release the rest of the hostages it holds, basically soldiers, in exchange for more prisoners.
In the third, Hamas would hand over the bodies of hostages who have died in captivity in exchange for Israel lifting the blockade it maintains on Gaza so that the reconstruction of a territory that has been practically devastated by Israeli attacks can begin.
The Israeli Government considered the proposal “unrealistic”, but has allowed, unlike last week with the talks in Cairo, Israeli representatives to attend the round in Qatar. The new round, according to Egyptian sources, would begin tomorrow afternoon, although the meeting could be postponed to Monday.