AA / Jerusalem / Saïd Amori
Israel’s Channel 12 (private) reported Thursday that Mossad (Israeli intelligence services) chief David Barnea had mentioned the possibility of a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the proposal.
The channel cited unnamed sources as saying that Barnea believes a deal can be reached, while Netanyahu opposes the terms presented.
According to the channel, the details of the agreement that Barnea said he would make include the release of 40 living Israeli prisoners and the return of residents of northern Gaza to their homes, without additional conditions.
The media outlet said the prime minister considered the deal “weak” for Israel and ordered an attack on southern Rafah in the Gaza Strip.
Both war cabinet ministers, Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, supported Barnea’s position, but that did not stop Netanyahu from resisting and rejecting the deal, the same source reported.
Barnea heads the Israeli delegation negotiating a possible prisoner exchange deal with Hamas.
Indirect talks are continuing in Doha between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, with the aim of reaching a prisoner exchange agreement and a second truce between the two sides.
The first truce, which lasted a week until early December, resulted in a prisoner exchange and limited aid entering the Gaza Strip.
Tel Aviv holds at least 9,100 Palestinians in its jails, while about 134 Israelis are imprisoned in Gaza. Hamas earlier announced the death of 70 of them as a result of Israeli attacks.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a devastating war in the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians, mostly children and women, in addition to unprecedented humanitarian disaster and destruction. The massive infrastructure that led to Tel Aviv. They will be brought before the International Court of Justice on charges of “genocide”.
Source: AA
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