Ceasefire talks between Israel, Hamas advance
JERUSALEM – Progress has been made between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in negotiations on an exchange of hostages, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported Sunday.
This follows the conclusion of a summit on Sunday in the French capital Paris with the participation of Israel, the US, Egypt and Qatar.
“The Paris summit between Israel, the United States, Egypt and Qatar on the negotiations for the exchange of hostages with Hamas has ended, and there is progress in the talks,” the broadcasting authority quoted an unnamed Israeli political source as saying.
The source said “the summit discussed a plan to release Israeli hostages in stages, while there are still gaps in demands between the conflicting parties (Israel and Hamas).”
“The parties in the talks discussed a ceasefire (that would last) for approximately two months in exchange for the release of about 100 Israeli hostages. Priority would be given to children, women and the sick, while Israel releases a large number of Palestinian prisoners,” the source added
Israel was represented at the summit by the head of the Israeli spy agency Mossad, David Barnea, and the head of Israeli Security Agency, commonly referred to as Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, according to the broadcasting authority.
Later, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, in a brief statement, that “the intelligence summit in Europe – with the participation of Mossad Director David Barnea, ISA Director Ronen Bar, Maj.-Gen, (Res.) Nitzan Alon, the Director of the CIA (William Burns), the Prime Minister of Qatar (Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani) and the head of the Egyptian Intelligence Services (Abbas Kamel) – concluded a short while ago.”
It added that “there are still significant gaps which the sides will continue to discuss at additional mutual meetings to be held this week.”
There has been no official comment from Hamas, Qatar, or the US regarding what the Israeli source mentioned.
However, Hamas has repeatedly confirmed that there will be no talk of a hostage swap deal before a comprehensive ceasefire and the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the areas it infiltrated. (Anadolu)