What are the main gaps between the Israeli and the Hamas positions in the negotiations and how to conclude the negotiations positively

Gershon Baskin

July 25, 2025

The bottom line is that Israel and Hamas have goals which are diametrically opposed. Hamas wants to end the war, have a full Israeli withdrawal from all of Gaza, and a very large release of Palestinian prisoners, including all of the prisoners serving life sentences for killing Israelis and all of the Gazan prisoners who have been arrested since October 7, including people who were involved in the killing and pillaging of that horrible day inside of Israel, and the return of international aid according to the parameters that existed during the ceasefire of February-March, with the explicit addition of the reopening of the Rafah crossing for movement of people and goods in both directions. In exchange for Hamas’s demands, Hamas is prepared to release all 50 Israeli hostages at one time. Hamas is prepared for there to be a Palestinian professional civilian government take control of Gaza “with all authorities” (as they say) and that Hamas will not be part of that government.  Hamas has not said that they are willing to lay down their weapons, although in private talks behind the scenes with other Palestinians, they have said that armed Hamas personnel could be absorbed into a new Palestinian police/security force. Furthermore, Hamas has agreed to international supervision of aid distribution including possible international inspections by Egyptian and/or Qatari personnel at the Rafah crossing and inside of Gaza.

Israel does not agree to end the war and therefore it forced the talks to focus on a partial deal for 60 days of ceasefire and the release of half of the living and not living hostages. Israel is prepared to redeploy its forces to the almost the same lines that they held prior to the breakdown of the ceasefire in March, but Israel is not prepared to withdraw from all of Gaza. Israel is not prepared to have the Rafah crossing reopened - at least not controlled anyway by the Palestinians in Gaza or by Hamas. Israel wants the aid distribution to continue to be controlled by the Israeli formed, US Evangelical supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation which does not have the experience or the capacity to deliver the aid to 2.2 million Gazans. Israel is opposed to releasing 20 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences for every living hostage. Israel is opposed to guaranteeing that after 60 days the ceasefire would be transformed into a permanent ceasefire, essentially ending the war.  Israel is not opposed to talk about ending the war, even now – but only talk -no action. Israel is opposed to Hamas demanded guarantees from President Trump that Israel would not resume the war after 60 days.

The missing piece in the Gaza puzzle is the Palestinian decision of who and what will govern Gaza instead of Hamas. If there was a Palestinian decision of a viable candidate to form a legitimate Palestinian government who is committed to non-violence, disarming Hamas, peace with Israel based on two states, and someone acceptable to the Gazans, Hamas’s tough positions in the negotiations would crash.   There is a clear failure on the part of the leadership of the Palestinian Authority in determining the governance of Gaza now.  Gaza is Palestinian and will remain Palestinian and part of the Palestinian state. Until Palestinian elections can be held (which according to Abbas will be within 12 months), the responsibility to determine the governance of Gaza is Palestinian - not Israeli, not European and not American. But the person or mechanism selected by the Palestinian President must be someone with the qualifications, the determination, the ability to be accepted by the Gazans and someone dedicated to rebuilding Gaza on the basis of peace with Israel under the solution of two states. It must be someone dedicated to non-violence and to disarming any group in Gaza which is not part of the Palestinian Gazan Government.

This is a Palestinian decision and not mine, but it is no secret that I believe that there is one Palestinian who is legitimate, well known, originally from Gaza, respected internationally, able and willing to do the job, and that is Dr. Nasser Alkidwa. I think that Dr. Nasser should be invited to the White House to get the international backing required to force President Abbas to agree to appoint him as head of the temporary government for Gaza.  Dr. Nasser was the PLO representative in the UN for 17 years.   He served as a PA foreign minister.   He is the nephew of Yasser Arafat which gives him Palestinian public legitimacy.  He signed a joint vision paper with former Israeli Prime Minister Olmert and has presented it in public to more than 30 heads of State and foreign ministers.  He is in the opposition to Mahmoud Abbas because of his strong opposition to autocracy and corruption.  He is living with his French wife in Nice in exile and is planning to return to the West Bank in the near future. Two weeks ago, he was in Cairo holding meetings with representatives from all of the Palestinian factions. This is the missing link that could enable ending the war. Israel would no longer have the real excuse that an Israeli withdrawal leaves Hamas in control of Gaza.  It doesn’t have to be Dr. Nasser – it is the Palestinians’ decision, but that decision needs to be taken now – it should have been taken months ago – but now it is extremely urgent  - if the Palestinians want to bring an end to the war.

If the Israeli-Hamas negotiations were transformed into negotiations for ending the war, the terms of the deal change and the Hamas demands can be viewed differently. There must be a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.  Israel can protect Israel from the border.  It is legitimate for Israel to determine a reasonable security perimeter on the Gaza side of the border for a limited time, without Israeli troops inside of Gaza until there is a peaceful government in Gaza with an effective security force. This would be a no-entry zone with the threat of being shot. By the Israeli army from the Israeli side of the border. This is one of the necessary consequences of October 7.  It is also reasonable to demand an effective internationally supervised mechanism for inspection and control of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.   Egypt will refuse to have any international presence on its side of the border, but it is reasonable to have it in place on the Gaza side of the border.  There was an agreement in the past for the Rafah Crossing (back in 2005) – that agreement should be reviewed and modified if necessary or a new agreement should be reached in its place.  There should be no Israeli presence on the Rafah border crossing or dealing with the distribution of aid in Gaza after Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Goods entering Gaza via Israel can be inspected by Israel to ensure that no weapons are being smuggled into Gaza or the means for producing new weapons.

With regards to the release of Palestinian prisoners – this is a very hard issue for both societies, yet in order to get the hostages home, Israel will have to release prisoners – even those serving life sentences for killing Israelis. My suggestion based on what I also believed during the time of the Schalit deal (although my opinion was not listened to) – the most dangerous prisoners should be released to their homes in the West Bank and not deported to areas outside of the ability to have effective oversight on those released prisoners. If they violate the terms of their release, which means that they if they return to violence or violent activities in any form they can be rearrested by Israel.  In 2014 Israel rearrested 68 former Hamas prisoners in the West Bank for violating the terms of their release. If the released prisoners are deported from the area, Israel loses its ability to have oversight and they become potentially much more dangerous. There is no possibility of bringing home the Israeli hostages without releasing Palestinian prisoners.   That has to be accepted.

Lastly, perhaps Netanyahu and his government expect that continued war will bring Hamas to surrender – this will never happen.  Hamas will never raise the white flag and admit defeat and turn over their weapons to Israel.  The only way of bringing Hamas down is by the will of the Palestinian people with the support of the Arab nations. Remember, not one dollar of money for reconstruction will enter Gaza if Hamas remains in control of Gaza – militarily or in terms of governance. The people of Gaza know this and they hold not only Israel responsible for the destruction of Gaza and their lives, the hold Hamas responsible as well and they don’t want Hamas ruining their lives anymore.