jordan pulse -
Deputy Chairman of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Gaza Strip, Khalil al-Hayya, said that the movement received Israel’s official response to the movement’s position on the negotiations, which was delivered to the Qatari and Egyptian mediators on April 13.
Al-Hayya added in a statement that the movement will study the proposal and respond to it once it is completed, without additional details.
Earlier, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that there are new Qatari-Egyptian efforts underway to try to reach a deal between Hamas and Israel. He added that there is new momentum in talks to conduct a prisoner exchange deal, but he did not indicate the reason for his optimism about that.
Sullivan indicated that there is a new effort by Qatar, Egypt and Israel to try to find a way forward in the talks on the Gaza Strip.
The American official's statements coincided with what Cairo announced, that an Egyptian security delegation arrived in Tel Aviv on Friday, including a group of specialists in the Palestinian file, to discuss a comprehensive framework for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Cairo News Channel, quoting an Egyptian security official, revealed that there has been notable progress in bringing the views of the Egyptian and Israeli delegations closer together regarding reaching a truce in the Gaza Strip.
Commenting on this news, the Hebrew website “0404” reported that the far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to leave the government if he agreed to the Egyptian initiative.
Smotrich considered that the initiative constituted a dangerous Israeli submission and a disastrous victory for Hamas, he said.
The Israeli Kan channel said that the security establishment and most of the political leadership in Israel support the Egyptian proposal regarding the exchange deal, but Netanyahu does not agree to it.
In breaking news on Friday evening, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation quoted a minister in the mini-security council, whose identity was not revealed, as confirming that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not want to reach a deal and is placing many obstacles in this regard.
One last chance
Meanwhile, the American website Axios quoted Israeli officials as saying that Tel Aviv informed Cairo that Israel is ready to give “one last chance” to reach an agreement with Hamas to release the detainees, before proceeding with the invasion of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
According to Axios, "Israel informed Egypt that it is serious about preparations to launch the operation in Rafah and that it will not allow Hamas to slow down."
In the same context, John Kirby, coordinator of strategic communications at the US National Security Council, said that Hamas’s rejection of the exchange deal proposal does not mean that Washington will abandon its efforts to release the detainees.
Deputy Chairman of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and member of its political bureau, Khalil al-Hayya, said that the attack on Rafah “will not succeed in destroying Hamas,” explaining that the Israeli occupation forces “did not destroy more than 20% of Hamas’ capabilities, whether human or field.”
Reuters + AFP