Bethlehem Together – Hamas revealed the amendments it made to the proposed prisoner exchange and truce deal. According to an official in the movement, Hamas demands that the stages of the deal be ‘interconnected and continuous,’ including complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, freedom of movement for Gaza residents, and lifting the siege on the Strip.
Meanwhile, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, quoting Israeli officials, said, ‘The chances of reaching an agreement under these circumstances are non-existent.’
Hamas wants the condition of starting reconstruction to be part of the first phase of the deal, not the third, and a commitment to stopping the war in the first phase.
Hamas also wants other countries to join in order to guarantee the agreement, namely Turkey, Russia, and China. Israel says that this condition is unacceptable to it.
Hamas also completely rejects any Israeli interference with the list of prisoners. The movement also refuses to deport the prisoners, ‘not even to Gaza,’ and demands
their release to their country of origin, while Israel refuses to release prisoners in the West Bank.
Amendments made by Hamas to the deal proposal:
1. On the first day of the first phase of the deal, a temporary ceasefire will begin on both sides, and Israeli forces will begin to withdraw from populated areas to areas adjacent to the border outside the Gaza Strip.
2. On the third day, the withdrawal will begin from the Salah al-Din axis and Al-Rashid Street, and the dismantling of all military installations on the Netzarim axis will begin, coinciding with the complete withdrawal from the Philadelphia axis and from the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing.
3. In the first phase, Hamas will release 32 Israeli hostages, dead or alive – not 33 – as three hostages will be released every three days.
4. If complete withdrawal is not completed by the seventh day, the release of Israeli hostages will cease.
5. The lists of Palestinian prisoners will be based on the principle of ‘priority based on priority in
arrest,’ meaning that the movement will request the release of former prisoners.
6. At the end of the first phase of the deal, there must be a complete withdrawal from the entire Strip, and this means that there will not be any Israeli soldiers inside Gaza.
7. The first phase ends with a declaration of readiness for a ‘sustainable truce’ aimed at stopping military operations completely, before exchanging prisoners from both sides.
8. Hamas requested the addition of China, Russia, and Turkey as guarantor countries for the agreement.
Senior officials in Israel said that Hamas’ response shows that the movement’s leader, Yahya Sinwar, does not trust Israel, and is convinced that it will undermine the agreement at any moment. Therefore, he insists on closing everything even before the first stage, so that Israel enters the humanitarian stage when it knows that the war is over and no longer exists. A way to get back to fighting.
Source: Maan News Agency