Hostage swap agenda: Israel allegedly demands veto power

According to a report by Israel's state broadcaster KAN, an unnamed senior Israeli official stated that the US foreign intelligence agency, the CIA, has proposed the release of 900 Palestinian prisoners, including 100 individuals serving life sentences.

The official claimed that Israel is seeking veto power over certain Palestinians whose release has been proposed by the CIA.

This would allow Israel to refuse the release of certain names proposed by Hamas.

According to the KAN report, Israel also wants the ability to deport the released Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The report stated that the expanded Israeli Security Cabinet met to discuss the prisoner release agreement, and it was expected that during the meeting, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich would ask the US administration to announce that Israel would be permitted to continue the war against Hamas, including in Rafah, at the end of a 6-week ceasefire.

Israeli media had reported that the Israeli delegation, which was in Cairo for ceasefire and hostage swap negotiations in Gaza, had returned to the country and that the situation in the negotiations was uncertain.

The report by Israel's state broadcaster KAN noted that officials in Israel refused to comment on reports of progress in the negotiations, stating that it would only be known in the coming days whether any progress had been made.

Hamas also announced that Israel's position regarding the indirect negotiations held in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, concerning a ceasefire and hostage swap had been conveyed to them.

In the statement, which noted that Hamas appreciates the great efforts made by the mediators, it was stated that Hamas attaches importance to reaching an agreement that would end the attacks on the Palestinian people, but that Israel continues to maintain a stubborn stance and has not responded positively to any of the demands of the Palestinian people and their resistance.

Despite this, the statement reported that the Hamas leadership is examining the proposal presented to them with full national responsibility and that once the examination is complete, the mediators will be informed of Hamas's position regarding the proposal.

Hamas has stated many times that for a ceasefire and hostage swap agreement, "the war must stop, Israel must withdraw from Gaza, displaced persons must return to their homes, and the entry of aid must be facilitated" first.

Reports in the Egyptian press on April 6 stated that the ceasefire and hostage swap negotiations in Gaza would resume on April 7 in Cairo, the capital of Egypt.

INDIRECT NEGOTIATION

The Israeli delegation led by Mossad Chief David Barnea had traveled to Doha, the capital of Qatar, on March 19 for a new round of negotiations regarding the release of hostages.

The Israeli press announced that with the arrival of the delegation led by the Mossad Chief in Doha, hostage swap negotiations between Hamas and Tel Aviv had officially begun.

It was stated that the head of the Internal Security Agency (Shin Bet), Ronen Bar, and Nitzan Alon, the official responsible for the file of kidnapped and missing persons in the Israeli army, were also part of the Israeli delegation.

The Haaretz newspaper had claimed that Israel would conduct negotiations regarding the ceasefire and hostage swap directly with Hamas's leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, without mediators.

A report by Israel's Channel 12 television noted that the negotiations could last approximately 2 weeks. Reports appeared in the Israeli press that Mossad Chief Barnea, who headed the Tel Aviv delegation, had returned to his country on the same day.

News Source: AA