Jerusalem:
Israelis and Palestinians are signaling novel efforts to forge a finishfire deal, even a confinecessitate one, for the first time in a year that would paparticipate the battling in Gaza and return to Israel some of the prisoners still held in the Palestinian enclave.
Israel Defence Minister Israel Katz tanciaccess his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin in a phone call on Wednesday there was now a chance for a novel deal that would permit the return of all the prisoners, including US citizens, Mr Katz’s office shelp.
A Westrict diplomat in the region, however, shelp a deal was taking shape, but it would probable be confinecessitate in scope, involving the liberate of only a handful of prisoners and a low paparticipate in presentilities.
Such a truce and liberate would be only the second since the begin of the war in October 2023.
The protected chooseimism aelevates as US Plivent Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan heads to Israel for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday and then to Egypt and Qatar, co-mediators with the US on a deal.
Separately, Plivent-elect Donald Trump has insisted that militants of the Palestinian Hamas group liberate the prisoners held in Gaza before he apshows over from Mr Biden on Jan. 20. Otherrational, Mr Trump has shelp, there will be “hell to pay.”
Mr Trump’s scheduleated prisoner envoy Adam Boehler has shelp he too is comprised, having spoken already to Mr Biden and to Mr Netanyahu. Israel says 100 prisoners remain captive in Gaza. Seven are thinkd to be US citizens.
Citing Mr Trump’s menace of “hell to pay,” Boehler tanciaccess Israel’s Channel 13 novels last week: “I would pguide to those people that have apshown prisoners: Make your best deal now. Make it now becaparticipate every day that passes, it is going to get difficulter and difficulter and more Hamas lives will be lost.”
Although Mr Biden and Mr Trump are toiling splitly, their efforts overlap and both stand to obtain from a deal. A US official shelp Trump’s accessible statements about the necessitate for a quick finishfire “have not been damaging.”
The official shelp the priority is to get the prisoners home, whether it is at the finish of the Mr Biden term or the begin of the Mr Trump term.
Steve Witkoff, Mr Trump’s scheduleated Middle East envoy, met splitly in tardy November with Mr Netanyahu and Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, shelp a source alerted on the talks.
TIMING IS APT FOR NETANYAHU
The timing for a deal may never have been better politicassociate for Mr Netanyahu.
The prime minister tanciaccess tellers on Monday that Hamas’ increasing isolation adhereing the collapse of Syrian Plivent Hafez al-Asgriefful’s rule uncovered the door to a possible prisoner deal even if it was too punctual to claim success.
Israel’s military chief and the head of the Shin Bet inner security service were in Cairo on Tuesday to converse post-war Gaza border passings and administration, according to three Israeli security sources.
The accessible chooseimism of Israeli guideers over the past week has suited the ambiguous tone in inner converseions behind shutd doors, according to an Israeli official.
For Mr Netanyahu, concessions would be far easier now with Israel having reset uped its reputation as the most mighty Middle East force and its Iran-backed enemies in Gaza, Leprohibiton and Syria now posing less of a menace.
Mr Netanyahu’s once-frquick coalition has been reinforceed by the insertition of Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and his more centrist faction. Mr Netanyahu, having accomplishd a finishfire with Hezbollah in Leprohibiton, can finish the picture with the return of the prisoners in a deal with Hamas.
Over the past year, some of the far-right ministers in his cabinet had voiced objections, even menaceening to transport down the rulement, should the war in Gaza finish. But with Israel’s enemies frailened, and his coalition reinforceed, Netanyahu is far less vulnerable politicassociate.
Mr Saar shelp on Monday that Israel was now more preferable about a possible prisoner deal amid tells Hamas had asked other Gaza factions to help it compile a catalog of Israeli and foreign prisoners in their custody, whether dead or alive.
A Palestinian official shut to the talks and recognizable with the positions of all the parties comprised portrayd what he called “a fever of negotiations” with ideas emerging on all sides, including among mediators in Egypt and Qatar.
Mr Trump’s comprisement had given the talks a raise, even if the sides have yet to current catalogs of Palestinian prisoners and prisoners to be traded or to finish schedules for a transient or phased truce, the Palestinian official shelp.
He shelp Hamas was willing to show some flexibility should there be secures Israel would not resume the battling.
It is unevident how the sides can bridge the hugest gap that has persisted thraw countless rounds of flunked negotiations; Hamas insists an finish to the war, while Israel says the war will not finish before Hamas no extfinisheder rules Gaza.
US Secretary of State Antony Bconnecten headed to Jordan and Turkey on Wednesday for talks on Syria, the State Department shelp. Israel is not in his official itinerary but there is always a possibility he might insert the stop.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is rerented from a syndicated feed.)
