4 mei 2024 om 13:56 Update: 1 uur geleden
Hamas negotiators are in Egypt on Saturday to negotiate a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The proposal now on the table also includes the release of hostages and prisoners. Israel has put extra pressure on the meeting.
Last week, Israel announced it was giving Hamas “one last chance.” If a deal is not reached soon, the country will press ahead with its invasion of the southern city of Rafah.
CIA chief Bill Burns joined the meeting on behalf of the United States. His arrival is seen as a sign that the White House sees this as a crucial moment in the negotiations. This week, the US Secretary of State urged Hamas to agree to the deal, saying it would be a “no-brainer”.
More than a million displaced Palestinians have found temporary shelter in Rafah. Opponents and allies of Israel are on the lookout for civilian casualties. The United States, Israel’s most important ally, has repeatedly said it is against a large-scale offensive in Rafah.
But Israel “does not want to be slowed down by Hamas,” officials said last week. The country is trying to increase the pressure on Hamas with threats.
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‘Significant progress has been made’
According to Egyptian media, “significant progress” has been made during the negotiations. Agreement has reportedly been reached on most points of contention, but the parties themselves have not yet confirmed this.
The precise content of the proposal now on the table is not known. A senior Hamas official previously said the extremist Palestinian group had “no major problems” with the latest proposal. The American news site Axios wrote, based on Israeli sources, that Hamas had only “some additional demands.”
In Israel itself, there is some resentment about a possible ceasefire. Two right-wing Israeli ministers announced last weekend that they would quit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government if he postponed the military ground offensive.
The parties already reached an agreement last year. Then hostages were exchanged for prisoners. The current negotiations have been going on for several months, without a breakthrough. Israel wants to eliminate Hamas completely, while Hamas wants a permanent ceasefire and total Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
