Israeli Channel 12: It’s possible to reach an agreement with Hamas within days

Israeli channel 12 reported on Wednesday evening that there is progress in negotiations between Israel and Hamas regarding a prisoner exchange deal.

Channel 12 reported on Wednesday evening that the details of the agreement could be finalized within days, despite the existence of points of contention that haven’t yet been resolved.

The Israeli channel reported that the negotiating teams had made tangible progress in narrowing the gaps, and that the details of the first phase of the deal had reached their final stages.

The Israeli channel added that the Israeli delegation is expected to return from Qatar to accurately determine the level of progress in the communications.

“Limited consultations are expected to be held, Thursday, in the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with the participation of Defense Minister Israel Katz, Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, in addition to the heads of the security establishment regarding progress in the negotiations and other details of the talks,” the Israeli channel said.

According to channel 12, “Netanyahu monopolizes the details of the negotiations and only shares them with the people who need to know about them, such as the relevant people from the security establishment”.

Netanyahu keeps the details of the negotiations to himself and shares them only with the relevant security officials.

The channel pointed out that this secrecy aims to avoid any dispute within the government coalition.

Netanyahu had given strict instructions not to disclose any details about the deal at this stage.

The channel said, “In Israel, senior officials claim that it will be possible to finalize the details of the agreement within days – and reach an agreement within a few weeks”.

The channel reported that one of the most prominent sticking points is whether Hamas will accept a partial deal without guarantees to end the war in the next stages.

Other disagreements, according to channel 12, relate to the identity of the Palestinian prisoners who will be released, the Philadelphi Corridor, the mechanism for the return of displaced Palestinians to the northern Gaza Strip, and the deportation of adult prisoners to other countries.

Prisoner exchange negotiations between Israel and Hamas faltered due to Netanyahu’s insistence on continuing control over the Philadelphi Corridor on the border between Gaza and Egypt, and the Rafah crossing in Gaza, and preventing the return of Palestinian faction fighters to northern Gaza by inspecting returnees through the Netzarim corridor in the middle of the Strip.

For its part, Hamas insists on a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Strip and a complete cessation of war, in order to accept any agreement.