By Janet Ekstract ISTANBUL- On Monday, two anonymous Israeli officials, privy to talks between Israel and involved parties, told Axios and CNN International that Israel proposed that Hamas senior leaders could leave Gaza as part of a broader ceasefire agreement. The proposal which hasn’t previously been made public, comes amid palpable anger from a majority of Israelis who want to see new leadership and are unhappy with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s foot dragging when it comes to the hostages and a ceasefire. The new proposal includes a two-month ceasefire with Hamas in exchange for a staged release of the 136 remaining Israeli hostages. The first stage of hostage release includes the release of women and men over 60 as well as those with critical medical conditions. Hamas initially proposed a full ceasefire which Netanyahu rejected. On Sunday, Netanyahu’s comments to the press included: “If we agree to this, our soldiers fell in vain. If we agree to this, we will not be able to guarantee the security of our citizens.” He also said: “I reject outright the terms of surrender of the monsters of Hamas.”
According to Netanyahu’s office, he told the families of hostages that there is an “initiative” to secure the hostages’ release but “no real proposal” from Hamas that could speed up securing their freedom. A report from Axios states that the latest proposal from Israel would see the release of all remaining hostages and hostage bodies in multiple phases in exchange for Palestinian detainees imprisoned in Israel. Israel would move its forces out of main population centers and allow “a gradual return of Palestinian civilians to Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip.” Israel says it believes that only 104 hostages are still alive out of the 136 that were taken. Meanwhile, a report in the Wall Street Journal stated the U.S., Egypt and Qatar want Israel to join a new phase of talks with Hamas that would start with the release of hostages and end with the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
At issue are the divisions within Israel’s war cabinet where far-right ministers are totally against Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and the debate rages about whether to bring the hostages home to Israel over defeating Hamas. This comes amid thousands of Israelis protesting in Tel Aviv against Netanyahu’s handling of the war. Last week, war cabinet minister Gadi Eisenkot said that defeating Hamas is an unrealistic goal and called for elections in a matter of months. He also said the Israeli government failed to secure the release of all the hostages which should have been its highest priority, he added. Families of the hostages protested at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament and said: “It can’t go on like this. You’d better know it can’t go on like this. You will not sit here while our children die there.” Netanyahu who was brought up on corruption charges has yet to answer to those which were brought on November 21, 2019 when he was officially charged with fraud and breach of trust as well as receiving bribes. His corruption trial resumed on Monday though Netanyahu didn’t attend the hearing. Just like Donald J. Trump, Netanyahu claims the charges against him amount to a “witchunt.”
