Hamas to respond to ceasefire offer

QATAR (QJ) -Negotiations for a cease-fire deal in Gaza appear to be strained. The high delegation from Israel has returned from Cairo, and there has been no news from Hamas regarding their position in the past few days.

Hamas this month made a detailed proposal for a four-and-a-half-month ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed it as “fiction” at the time. Still, the indirect talks in Cairo continued as Israel faced pressure from its allies to negotiate, while Hamas faced a major Israeli assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians are taking refuge.

Israeli negotiators offered a response to the deal Hamas proposed earlier this week, and a source familiar with the negotiations said Qatar – the mediator in the talks – is now awaiting a response from Hamas.

Points of disagreement include the number of Palestinian prisoners and hostages to be released, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the status of al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu leads the most hard-line government in Israel’s history, including some who strongly oppose any compromise involving the release of Palestinian prisoners or the withdrawal from Gaza.
If those ministers resign, Netanyahu’s coalition could collapse, leading to new elections and possibly the end of his political career.