The ongoing negotiations in the Egyptian capital witnessed an important setback, after the Israeli delegation withdrew in response to the request of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, Wednesday.
However, informed sources confirmed that the directions of Shin Bet head Ronan Bar were not compatible with Netanyahu’s vision. He told him, “It is important for the delegation to remain in Cairo in order to seek to ease Hamas’ position, but Netanyahu refused,” according to what was reported by Israeli Channel 13 yesterday evening, Wednesday.
Bar believes that if the Israeli delegation remains at the Egyptian negotiating table, it may be able to reduce the number of Palestinian prisoners that Israel will be forced to release later.
Red line
However, one name among the prisoners whose release Hamas is demanding is still difficult to accept: Marwan Barghouti.
An informed Western source revealed to Al-Arabiya/Al-Hadath channel that the head of the Israeli Mossad, David Barnea, informed the mediators that the release of Barghouti, a leader in the Fatah movement who is serving a life sentence for murder, after he led the second intifada, is a red line.
Yesterday, Netanyahu requested the return of the negotiating delegation from Cairo, and decided not to respond to the Egyptian mediator’s request to return it again.
The number of Palestinian prisoners to be released for every Israeli detainee in the Gaza Strip constituted the main stumbling block in the negotiations.
It is noteworthy that Cairo hosted quadripartite discussions on Tuesday between Egypt, the United States, Qatar, and Israel, but this quadripartite meeting ended without significant results, and the Mossad chief left the Egyptian capital.
However, a foreign source familiar with the negotiations later confirmed that, contrary to the impression that arose, and despite what was rumored about the return of the Israeli delegation, talks between the two parties regarding the deal for the kidnappers are continuing, according to what Haaretz newspaper reported.
On October 7, 2023, following its surprise attack on Israeli settlements and military bases in the Gaza Strip, Hamas detained about 250 people and transported them into the Strip. However, it released about 100 of them during a truce held between the two sides at the end of last November.
While 132 Israeli prisoners remain in Gaza, 27 of them are believed to have died, according to Israeli estimates.
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