WSJ: Negotiations Between “Israel” and Hamas Reach a Deadlock

The Wall Street Journal claims that the indirect negotiations held over the past few days between Hamas and the Israeli occupation regarding a ceasefire in Gaza and a prisoner exchange deal have reached an impasse.

The newspaper quoted Arab mediators stating, “Despite new hopes of reaching an agreement on a ceasefire and resuming talks, Hamas and Israel have reached a deadlock.”

The Wall Street Journal explained that “a ceasefire agreement in Gaza is unlikely to be finalized by the time U.S. President Joe Biden leaves office.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, Hamas has conceded the possibility of discussions for a complete end to the war only in the final stages of the deal, focusing instead on a temporary ceasefire, the release of Palestinian prisoners with life sentences and high sentences, and increasing humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The discussions revolved around a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for the release of 30 Israeli captives under certain conditions, but Israel refused to release some of the Palestinian prisoners that Hamas requested.

While the mediators did not specify the prisoners that Israel refused to release, reports throughout the war have indicated Hamas’s desire to release Fatah movement leader Marwan Barghouti, who was sentenced in 2004 by an Israeli court to five cumulative life sentences plus forty years for carrying out resistance operations that resulted in the death of five Israelis and injured many.

Earlier, an Israeli political source revealed that Tel Aviv is completely against ending the war in the Gaza Strip, based on reports of a stalemate in the negotiations for the prisoner exchange deal with Hamas.

The Hebrew newspaper Maariv quoted an unnamed political source saying, “The war will not end as long as Hamas militarily and civilly controls Gaza,” noting that there are gaps between Israel’s understanding and Hamas’s understanding regarding the prisoners classified as “humanitarian.”

The same source clarified that “Hamas says that Israel is trying to include in the first phase of the released prisoners those who do not meet the conditions of the humanitarian list of men and soldiers.”

Hamas refuses to hand over the lists of the kidnapped, while Israel insists on receiving the lists as a necessary condition for concluding the deal and starting its implementation.

Regarding this, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority claimed on Tuesday evening that Hamas proposed a one-week truce during which it would provide a list of Israeli prisoners in Gaza.

The Broadcasting Authority quoted unnamed foreign sources stating, “Hamas proposes a ceasefire for one week,” explaining that this week “does not include the release of the kidnapped (prisoners), nor the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza, nor the return of displaced Palestinians to the northern sector.”

According to the sources, “Hamas will present on the fourth day of the week-long truce a list of names of Israeli prisoners that it can release, as Israel demands,” adding, “Israel will decide at the end of the seventh day whether it agrees to the list provided by Hamas or if the Israeli army will resume fighting.”

According to the Broadcasting Authority, “Hamas says it cannot prepare a list of kidnapped names while the war continues, so it proposes a ceasefire for a week.”