Gaza Negotiations Temporarily Halted with Possibility of Resuming Soon.. Hamas Sets Its Conditions
Bashara Bahbah, head of the Arab Americans Committee and participant in the Doha negotiations, announced that the talks between Hamas and Israel did not collapse, but were temporarily suspended, with the possibility of resuming next week. According to Al-Arabiya, Bahbah emphasized the need for Hamas to show greater flexibility by presenting a "new logical proposal" publicly, affirming that the opportunity to reach an agreement still exists, especially since the disagreements over the deployment of Israeli forces in Gaza "do not exceed tens of meters."
On the other hand, a prominent leader in Hamas informed CNN that the negotiations are still facing obstacles in two main issues: the exchange of prisoners and the mechanism for the withdrawal of Israeli forces. He explained that Hamas had submitted its proposals to the Qatari and American mediators before both parties withdrew from the talks, leading to accusations of "obstinacy" against the movement.
In detail, Hamas demanded the release of 2200 Palestinian prisoners, including 200 serving life sentences and 2000 others from Gaza, in exchange for the release of 10 living Israeli detainees. Its conditions also included handing over the bodies of 10 Palestinians and 50 prisoners from Gaza for each killed Israeli soldier, in addition to releasing women and children under 18 years old.
Regarding the military withdrawal, the movement proposed a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from various areas in Gaza, ranging from 700 to 1200 meters depending on the location, with a complete withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor border within 50 days.
In response to these demands, Israel accused Hamas of "backtracking on its commitments," while both Egypt and Qatar affirmed the continuation of mediation efforts with American support. However, American statements were contradictory; while the White House called for dialogue to continue, President Trump threatened to "end the mission and eliminate Hamas," raising doubts about the seriousness of the negotiation process.
