The official Israeli Kan channel said that mediators proposed that Egypt replace the Israeli army in inspecting displaced Palestinians who will return to the northern Gaza Strip, as part of a hoped-for agreement between Tel Aviv and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

The channel reported, "In the new broad outlines of the deal to release the kidnappers, mediators (which it did not specify) propose that Egypt replace Israel in inspecting Gaza citizens who will return to the north."

This channel quoted information from two sources that it said had seen the broad outlines of the deal that was supposedly presented yesterday evening, Tuesday, to the expanded Israeli political and security cabinet meeting.

According to these two sources, the Israeli occupation forces, which control the “Netzarim” corridor, which separates northern Gaza from the center and south, will remain there for security purposes.

They added that "Israel is considering deploying Egyptian forces to search the Palestinians, and is expected to demand the presence of Israeli representatives at the checkpoints," but they added that "the Egyptians are not enthusiastic about the idea, but it does not seem that anyone else can carry out this task and be acceptable to Israel and Hamas," according to them. For exporters.

For months, Egypt and Qatar have been making mediation efforts in indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel to reach an agreement to exchange prisoners and stop the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza for 6 months.

The war forced about two million Palestinians to flee throughout the Gaza Strip, which has a population of about 2.2 million and has been besieged by Israel for 17 years.

40 prisoners and an Israeli veto

In a related context, Kan TV said that Israel insists on releasing 40 Israeli prisoners in the first phase of the hoped-for deal in exchange for a 42-day ceasefire.

She added, "But Hamas says in the talks that it does not have 40 abductees who meet the criteria for the first stage (elderly people, women, and female soldiers), and it wants to return a smaller number, and this is a major point of contention."

The same channel also revealed that Israel is demanding that it be granted a “veto” over the names of the Palestinian prisoners whose release Hamas will demand as part of the hoped-for deal.

Kan reported, citing an unnamed senior Israeli official, that the US Central Intelligence Agency proposed releasing 900 Palestinian prisoners, including 100 of the “heavy names,” that is, those serving life sentences.

She continued, "Israel demands that it have veto power over some terrorists," she said. This means enabling it to refuse to release some names proposed by Hamas.

Israel also demands that it be able to deport the prisoners, who will be released, from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, according to the channel, without mentioning a specific destination.

In the same context, the Israeli channel said that during the cabinet meeting, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is expected to ask the American administration (which proposed the ceasefire) to announce that at the end of the six-week truce, Israel will be allowed to resume the war against Hamas, including in Rafah.

According to the channel, Smotrich is also expected to ask Washington to announce that Gaza residents will not be allowed to cross freely from the south of the Strip to its north during those weeks of the truce.

As of Wednesday morning, none of the concerned parties had commented on what was reported by the official Israeli channel.

Thousands of prisoners

The Israeli occupation authorities are detaining at least 9,400 Palestinians, including children and women, in their prisons. They estimate that there are about 134 Israeli prisoners in Gaza, while Hamas announced that 70 of them were killed in random Israeli raids.

The movement repeatedly announced its commitment in the negotiations to ending the war, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, the return of the displaced to their areas, and the freedom to enter humanitarian and relief aid.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza, leaving more than 100,000 martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and massive destruction and famine that claimed the lives of children and the elderly. It continues its aggression against the Gaza Strip despite the issuance of a Security Council resolution for an immediate ceasefire. And also despite her first appearance before the International Court of Justice on charges of committing genocide.

Source: Anadolu Agency