Palestine Tet – 94 – Possible prisoner exchange, temporary ceasefire in the making

Rashida Tlaib – actually censored by a war crazy U.S. House of Representatives for defending Palestinians in Gaza and calling for a ceasefire.

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“We are justly afraid… This is organized evil on a scale we have only read about in books”.

A Gaza Palestinian

Asked if an Israeli operation—where forces wore disguises and entered a West Bank hospital to carry out killings/executions—is the appropriate conduct for a state, State Spokesman Matthew Miller says: “We think it is appropriate that they have the ability to bring members of Hamas to justice”

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Another article from the Arabic Press – Rai Al Youm translated by Google Translate from Arabic into English. For original article, click here.

The Hebrew media reveals some details of the proposed exchange deal… 35 days of truce in Gaza in exchange for 35 Israeli “hostages”, and the second phase will be larger and more comprehensive… and this is the point of contention.

Zain Khalil/Anatolia – January 31, 2024

(Israel’s) Hebrew Channel 12 revealed, on Wednesday evening, that Mossad chief David Barnea revealed to the Israeli War Council a “document of principles” for a possible prisoner exchange deal with Hamas, which includes the release of 35 Israeli detainees in the Gaza Strip in the first phase, in exchange for a truce for 35 days.

The channel’s spokeswoman said that the document presented by Barnea to the War Council “includes the release of 35 kidnapped survivors, including women, the wounded, and the elderly, in exchange for a truce lasting 35 days, meaning one day of the truce for each kidnapped (whom Hamas detained in the attack on October 7, 2023).”

She added, “It is possible after that to extend the calm for an additional week, in order to conduct negotiations on the possibility of completing the second phase of the deal, which includes the release of the youth, and all those whom Hamas describes as soldiers.”

The channel considered that “the essence of the disagreement on the Israeli side is not necessarily the number of security prisoners (Palestinian prisoners) that Israel will be forced to release from prisons, but rather their quality.” She pointed out that the deal “includes the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, who were convicted by Tel Aviv of involvement in attacks that resulted in the killing of Israelis.”

She stated that the release of these Palestinian prisoners “will be difficult for the public and politicians to digest.”

She continued: “The discussion in Israel was not only concerned with the issue of the number of prisoners (captives) who would be released, but also which prisoners would be released. This is very important and will affect the acceptance of the deal.”

Channel 12 confirmed that, until this moment, “there is no agreement on the number of (Palestinian) prisoners who will be released (by Israel).” According to the channel, the ball is now in Hamas’ court, to which the mediators conveyed the main lines of the deal, and is awaiting its response.

On Tuesday, the head of the Hamas Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, announced that his movement had received the deal proposal that was circulated within the framework of efforts to stop the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and complete a prisoner exchange agreement, and that it was studying it.

For its part, the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said on Wednesday evening that Hamas “insists that the next deal include three known Palestinian prisoners, only one of whom is a member of the movement.”

The newspaper pointed out that in the list that Hamas is expected to advance, “there are big names capable of changing the face of the Palestinian Authority, led by Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, who is considered in the latest opinion poll conducted in the West Bank to be the preferred candidate to head the Authority after Abu Mazen.” Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas).

The newspaper pointed out that in the list that Hamas is expected to advance, “there are big names capable of changing the face of the Palestinian Authority, led by Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, who is considered in the latest opinion poll conducted in the West Bank to be the preferred candidate to head the Authority after Abu Mazen.” Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas).

Barghouti (arrested by Israel in 2002) is serving five life sentences and 40 years in prison on charges of planning to carry out operations in which five Israelis were killed and others were injured, according to the same source.

The newspaper continued: “The second name that Hamas insists on is Ahmed Saadat, Secretary-General of the Popular Front, who planned to assassinate Minister Rehavam Zaei in 2001.” It pointed out that Israel “refused to release Saadat as part of the Shalit deal (to exchange prisoners in 2011).” It added, “Saadat, like Barghouti, is also considered an important popular figure in Palestinian society.”

As for the third prisoner, Yedioth Ahronoth said he was “Abdullah Barghouti, a member of Hamas, and one of the leaders of the organization’s military wing in the West Bank. Abdullah Barghouti is currently serving a life sentence for 67 years, which is an “unprecedented sentence in Israel,” according to the newspaper. Israel also refused to release Barghouti in the Shalit deal, according to the same source. As of 20:40 (UTG), the Hamas movement had not commented on what was reported by Channel 12 and the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

Israel also refused to release Barghouti in the Shalit deal, according to the same source.
As of 20:40 (UTG), the Hamas movement had not commented on what was reported by Channel 12 and the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

The United States, Egypt and Qatar are in contact with Israel, while Egypt and Qatar are in contact with Hamas to reach a second agreement to release Israeli prisoners from Gaza in exchange for the release of Palestinian detainees from Israeli prisons and a ceasefire in Gaza.

On Monday, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby announced, during an interview with MSNBC, that negotiations aimed at reaching an agreement to release Israeli prisoners detained in the Gaza Strip led to “a framework that could lead to a final agreement.”.

Tel Aviv estimates that there are about 136 Israeli prisoners in Gaza, while it holds at least 8,800 Palestinians in its prisons, according to official sources from both parties.