Only a few hours had passed since the spirit of optimism was spread regarding the resumption of the Doha negotiations regarding the Gaza truce and the exchange of prisoners and detainees, until fears of its abortion returned again, in light of reports of heated disagreements in the Israeli government between its president, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the leaders of the army and other security services.

It turned out that the army and the General Intelligence Service (Shin Bet) were boycotting the Israeli delegation, which was conducting negotiations in Doha, as a result of their differences with Netanyahu. The military and security leaders were planning to hold a preparatory meeting with the Minister of Defense, Yoav Galant, in the presence of leaders from all security agencies, to deliberate on Hamas’ response to the deal. But Netanyahu prevented representatives of the Mossad and its intelligence services from attending the meeting. When Gallant protested, Netanyahu told him: “The preparations for the negotiations are being done by me, not by you. I am the prime minister.” Netanyahu then said that the negotiating management body is now headed by him. It turned out that Netanyahu once again imposed a personal representative on the negotiating delegation, namely his advisor Ofir Felek. Therefore, the army decided to refrain from sending its representative, General Nitzan Allon, and the head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, was also absent from the delegation.

Military affairs analyst in the newspaper "Haaretz", Amos Harel, stated that the recent response of "Hamas" to the offer of the mediators in the negotiations on the exchange deal, which was delivered to Israel on Wednesday, sparked a major disagreement between Netanyahu and the heads of the security services, and Defense Minister Galant, who believe There is an opportunity for a serious breakthrough in the negotiations. He said: “Netanyahu, as appears from the leaks, and also from official statements, does not agree with their opinion. In the choice between releasing kidnapped persons (even if at a high price) and his political survival, it is clear what he will choose. Netanyahu fears dissolving the alliance with The extreme right parties, which could force early elections on him, and according to senior officials in the security apparatus, the result could be a missed opportunity that will cost the lives of other kidnapped people, the continuation of the fighting in the Gaza Strip, and perhaps another escalation with Hezbollah, which Netanyahu had previously followed "This approach has occurred several times since the beginning of the year, at the moment when there was a glimmer of hope for progress."

The Israeli media confirmed that Netanyahu, at best, wants to pass one stage of the deal, in which the wounded, the elderly, and children are released. The number is estimated at 33 prisoners, including 15 people alive. As for the remaining soldiers and men, along with the bodies of the kidnapped who were killed or died in captivity, they will be postponed. He says that Hamas has not sufficiently conceded its demand for external guarantees so that the Israeli army will not return to fighting.

Netanyahu is upset by the optimistic statements made by Minister Gallant and the leaders of the security services. Gallant said in his meeting with the families of the kidnapped two days ago: “We are very close to the deal more than ever before.” The military leaders believe that Netanyahu will sabotage the deal even in its first stage, and they confirm that, following great pressure from US President Joe Biden and the families of the prisoners, he approved the delegation’s departure to continue negotiations on the deal. But in the public statement, he was keen to restrict the delegation, as it found it difficult to advance. They also said, according to leaks published by Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper and the Walla website, that Netanyahu appears to “want to maintain the current fighting situation. This is the best situation for him to maintain his rule.” In this endeavor, Netanyahu receives support from the extreme right - the Religious Zionism Party, headed by Bezalel Smotrich, and the Otzma Yehudit Party, headed by Itamar Ben Gvir - as well as from influential media figures in the ranks of the right.

In this context, the right-wing journalist, Yinon Megal, published a post on the “X” platform, on Friday, in which he quoted an official close to Netanyahu as saying against Minister Gallant, who supports the deal, that “Gallant is a tool subject to the elite and to the Chief of General Staff. And just as he behaved.” On judicial reform (which he opposed because of its influence on the army), and just as he acted on the conscription law (for the ultra-Orthodox, in contrast to Netanyahu’s position), he now acts with the deal. He wants to overthrow the government and cannot be relied upon.

In turn, the Minister of Settlements and National Missions, Orit Struck, from the Religious Zionism Party, said: “I very much hope, before anything else, that the currently proposed deal proposal will not advance, because it abandons the vast majority of the kidnapped, and this is a terrible and terrible thing in my view.” Struck continued, "The proposal practically says that we will get a small number of kidnapped persons in exchange for the liberation of a huge number of murderous terrorists (i.e. Palestinian prisoners), stopping the fighting, and withdrawing from the Netzarim axis."

Netanyahu is benefiting from Ben Gvir's repeated threats to topple the government if he agrees to stop the war. Ben Gvir told Netanyahu during the security political cabinet meeting yesterday: “If you are going to make decisions alone, you will bear responsibility, and you will remain alone. Half a million people did not elect me to sit in the government, but for the heads of the security apparatus to decide. And I am not threatening, this is what In fact, if they decide on their own, they should not expect me to protect the government.”

Hebrew Channel 12 quoted an “informed source” that the ceiling of expectations must be lowered, and that Barnea’s travel “does not indicate a breakthrough, but rather the beginning of the process,” adding that no one rules out the possibility of torpedoing the negotiations, because the gaps are still wide. The "Israeli Broadcasting Corporation" pointed out that the Association of Families of Israeli Prisoners Detained in Gaza approached the Prime Minister with a request to arrange an urgent meeting to inform it of the latest developments in the file of the crystallized path of the deal.

For its part, Agence France-Presse quoted a Hamas official as saying that the movement expects a response from Israel by Saturday. The leader of the movement, Osama Hamdan, said: “We do not want to talk about the details of these ideas, waiting to hear a response (usually Friday or Saturday). If the response is positive, then these ideas will be discussed in detail.” He explained that the movement's military capabilities in the Gaza Strip "are still in good condition, enabling them to continue" the war.

Turkish media quoted President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying that he hoped to reach a “final ceasefire within two days,” and urged Western countries to put pressure on Israel to accept the conditions presented.

In Washington, the White House said that during a phone call with Netanyahu on Thursday, Biden welcomed the prime minister’s decision to resume the stalled talks “in an attempt to complete the agreement.”

Hamas' response relates to the proposal announced by Biden at the end of May, which includes the liberation of about 120 people still detained in Gaza, and a ceasefire in the Strip. The plan includes the gradual release of detainees, the withdrawal of Israeli forces in two stages, and the release of Palestinian prisoners. The third phase includes the reconstruction of Gaza and the return of the remains of the dead hostages. Israel previously said it would accept a temporary cessation of fighting only until Hamas, which runs the densely populated Strip, is completely eliminated. Egyptian security sources said that an Israeli delegation discussed in Egypt, on Thursday, the details of a possible agreement. The sources added that Israel will respond to Hamas' proposal after talks with Qatar, which is mediating peace efforts with Egypt.

In addition, the Hamas movement said on Friday that it rejects any statements or positions that support plans for foreign forces to enter the Gaza Strip under any name or justification. She stressed, in a statement, that the management of the sector “is a purely Palestinian affair.” She added that the Palestinian people "will not allow any guardianship or the imposition of any external solutions or equations that detract from their principles based on their pure right to achieve their freedom and self-determination."

(about the Middle East)