News continues about political movements and leaks indicating the possibility of reaching an agreement between Israel and Hamas regarding a prisoner exchange deal that includes suspending the war for two months in exchange for the release of more than 100 Israeli prisoners, according to what was reported by the American newspaper The New York Times.
The New York Times quoted American officials as saying that Israel and Hamas are close to reaching a prisoner exchange agreement within the next two weeks.
The newspaper reported, on Saturday evening, that negotiators are close to reaching an agreement in which Israel suspends its war on the Gaza Strip for two months in exchange for the release of more than 100 prisoners held by Hamas.
The officials told the newspaper that the negotiators have developed a draft of the agreement that combines the proposals of Hamas and Israel that were presented in the last ten days, and talks are taking place in Paris on Sunday between the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns, with officials from Qatar, Egypt and Israel.
According to American officials who insisted on remaining anonymous, important differences need to be resolved, as negotiators express cautious optimism about reaching a final agreement within reach.
Earlier, Israeli Channel 12 reported Hamas’ conditions for a new prisoner exchange deal, which are: 100 Palestinian prisoners for every Israeli prisoner, complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip, a truce of between 10-14 days before the release of any Israeli prisoner, and a truce for a period of time. Two months between each stage of the deal.
American pressure on Tel Aviv
The Axios news website quoted American officials as saying that President Joe Biden pressured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reduce the war on Gaza, stressing that he would not participate in it for a year as the elections approached.
One of Biden's advisors stated that the White House is concerned about Biden's loss of popularity due to the war on Gaza, while a source close to the White House said that Biden cannot tolerate the war and the increasing death toll to continue dominating the news cycle as the election approaches.
Amid UN warnings Israel seeks to prevent UNRWA from working in Gaza after the war
Israel said that it would seek to prevent the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from working in the Gaza Strip after the end of the war, after Tel Aviv accused employees of the UN agency of involvement in the October 7 attack.
Israel confirmed on Saturday that it will seek to prevent the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from working in the Gaza Strip after the end of the war, after Tel Aviv accused employees of the UN agency of involvement in the October 7 attack.
UNRWA announced on Friday evening that it had expelled “several” employees, whom the Israeli authorities accuse of involvement in the attack.
The United States, Canada, Australia, Italy, Britain, Finland, Germany and the Netherlands quickly suspended funding for the agency.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on the X platform on Saturday that the Foreign Ministry aims to ensure that “UNRWA will not be part of the phase” that follows the war, adding that he will seek to mobilize support from the United States, the European Union and other major donors.
Later, Katz said in a statement, “In the Gaza reconstruction phase, UNRWA should be replaced by agencies devoting its work to peace and development,” calling on more donors to suspend their funding.
In a post on the X platform, Katz called on UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini to resign, writing, “Lazzarini, please resign.”
For its part, the Hamas movement on Saturday denounced the Israeli "threats" against UNRWA and other UN organizations, calling on "the United Nations and international institutions not to yield to Israel's threats and blackmails."
UNRWA announced on Friday evening that “the Israeli authorities provided UNRWA with information about the suspected involvement of a number of its employees” in the October 7 attack inside Israeli territory.
“In order to protect the agency’s ability to provide humanitarian aid, I have decided to immediately terminate the contracts of these employees and open an investigation until the truth is established without delay,” Lazzarini said in a statement.
He continued: "Every employee involved in terrorist acts must be held accountable, including through judicial prosecutions."
On Saturday, Lazzarini said in a statement: “It is shocking to see the suspension of the agency’s funding in reaction to the allegations against a small group of employees,” especially in light of the measures taken by the UN agency, on which “more than two million people depend for their survival.” ".
She noted in a blog post on the
She added that the countries that suspended funding for the UN agency "are punishing millions of Palestinians at a sensitive time," accusing it of violating its obligations related to the Convention on the Prevention of Genocide.
In this regard, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Palestine, Francesca Albanese, said that the countries that suspended their funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) are participating in “genocide.”
Earlier Saturday, Palestine called on the countries that announced the temporary suspension of new funding to UNRWA to rescind their decision “immediately,” warning of an Israeli “campaign of incitement” aimed at liquidating the agency.
The Israeli accusations affected 12 employees out of more than 30,000 male and female employees, most of whom are Palestinian refugees themselves working for UNRWA, in addition to a small number of international employees.
These Western announcements came hours after the International Court of Justice in The Hague announced its rejection of Israel’s demands to drop the “genocide” lawsuit in Gaza brought against it by South Africa and temporarily ruled to oblige Tel Aviv “to take measures to stop the genocide and bring in humanitarian aid.”
At the same time, the Hamas movement, in a statement published on the Telegram platform, “strongly” denounced UNRWA’s termination of the contracts of some of its employees based on Israeli allegations of their involvement in the movement’s attack on October 7, on military sites and settlements around the Gaza Strip.
This development comes at a time when civilians in the Gaza Strip are living in a bitter humanitarian reality and there is a famine crisis in the Gaza and North governorates.
On Friday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip warned, in a statement, that about 600,000 citizens in the northern Gaza Strip face death as a result of “famine, the spread of diseases, and Israeli bombing.”