A potential hostage and cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas is 90 percent complete, but disputes persist over a prisoner-for-hostage swap and the redeployment of Israeli forces in Gaza, according to a senior U.S. administration official and other people familiar with the matter.
American officials, along with Qatar and Egypt, have worked for months to broker a deal to end the nearly year-long conflict. Those negotiations have taken on new urgency after the killings of six hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, and American officials said they were preparing to present a “final” offer to the parties soon.
It is not the first time in recent months that U.S. negotiators have described talks as being in their final stages, only to have those hopes dashed. It is a reality that White House officials have acknowledged in recent days.
The painstaking negotiations have prompted families of Americans still held by Hamas to press the White House to explore a separate deal with Hamas that would secure their family members’ release. So far, U.S. officials have said they are focused only on a broader agreement.
A senior Biden administration official on Wednesday (4) offered one of the most detailed analyses yet of key elements of the negotiations, which U.S. government spokespeople have said they would not discuss in public.
The official offered the previously undisclosed details following repeated public statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu casting doubt on his potential willingness to accept a deal, despite US claims he had agreed to a “transition proposal”.
The agreement itself makes no mention of the extension of the Egypt-Gaza border, known as the Philadelphia Corridor, the official told reporters on a conference call Wednesday. Netanyahu has held two news conferences this week to argue that maintaining permanent control of the corridor is vital to Israeli security.
“The first objective of the war was to destroy Hamas’ military and governance capabilities. The second was to free our hostages and the third was to ensure that Gaza would never again pose a threat to Israel. And all three of these objectives – all three – involve Israel’s control of the Philadelphia corridor,” Netanyahu said Wednesday at a foreign press conference.
The emphasis on Philadelphia in Netanyahu’s recent public statements has not been constructive, the official said.
“In my opinion, the less said about specific issues, the better,” he said, adding: “Establishing concrete positions in the middle of a negotiation is not always particularly useful.”
In the draft being discussed for the first phase of the deal, the Israel Defense Forces would be required to withdraw from “densely populated areas,” the official said. Israel argues that the border is not a single border and is vital to preventing arms smuggling into Gaza.
In the second phase, the IDF is expected to withdraw entirely from Gaza.
The official said the recent killing of six hostages by Hamas had “influenced” the ongoing negotiations and cast doubt on Hamas’s willingness to reach an agreement.
Hamas said this week that militants guarding Israeli hostages in Gaza buildings and tunnels had “new instructions” to kill them if Israeli troops approached.
Still, negotiations continue on finalizing the 18-paragraph proposal that U.S. officials believe is the best way to secure the hostages’ release.
Of the 18 paragraphs, all but four have been completed and agreed upon, the official said.
“We still see this agreement, this very complex but necessary agreement, as really the most viable option, perhaps the only viable option, to save the lives of the hostages, stop the war, bring immediate liberation to the inhabitants of Gaza and also ensure the security of Israel,” the official said.
The deal currently under discussion includes the release in the first phase of about 800 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, including some serving life sentences, the official said. They would be freed for the remaining female, elderly and wounded or sick hostages, believed to number about 30.
However, Hamas has proven to be a frustrating negotiating partner on this issue, the official said.
“There was some progress last week, but it is difficult and requires Hamas involvement. Otherwise, you simply cannot move forward,” the official said.
Frustrated with the progress of negotiations, some families of Americans still held hostage by Hamas have called on the Biden administration to consider a deal that includes Israel to secure the release of their loved ones. U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan met virtually with the families over the weekend.
While not ruling out such a possibility, US officials stressed this week that the broader deal is the best, and potentially the only, viable option to secure the hostages’ release.
“We are working on a proposal that would release all hostages, including American hostages, and that is the proposal that we were discussing in the region last week, and it was the same proposal that the president met with his team over the weekend to discuss. That is what we are working on,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday.
The broader deal under discussion includes a significant aid component that would be rolled out immediately once the first phase comes into effect.
As part of the deal, 600 aid trucks per day would be allowed into Gaza, including 50 trucks of fuel. Equipment to clear rubble, supplies to support Gaza’s internally displaced people and provisions for infrastructure rehabilitation would also be included in the first phase of the three-phase deal.
While negotiators are trying to bridge remaining gaps, it is unclear when in-person talks will resume. The last round ended last week. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Wednesday: “We want to get this proposal developed as quickly as possible and for Israel and Hamas to try to reach a final agreement.”
This content was originally published in US official presents details on ceasefire negotiations in Gaza on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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