Israeli media reported that the heads of the Mossad, David Barnea, the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, and the official responsible for the “hostages” file in the army, Gal Hirsch, will go today, Wednesday, to the Qatari capital, Doha, to hold talks on the prisoner and detainee deal, amid Israeli reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu deliberately thwarts the deal.

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation quoted a source as saying that the Doha negotiations will discuss the mechanism for bridging the gaps, especially regarding the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the identity of the Palestinian prisoners.

While the authority quoted an official involved in the exchange negotiations as saying that the current opportunity to reach an exchange deal may not be repeated, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said that the concerned parties will try to summarize the issues in which progress has been made and resolve the largest possible number of differences.

This comes in light of reports of the participation of the Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns, the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, and the head of Egyptian Intelligence, Abbas Kamel.

Constant pressure

US State Department spokesman Matt Miller said that Washington is pressing hard to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, which would guarantee the release of detainees, alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people, increase humanitarian aid, and lead to an end to the war.

Matt Miller added to CNN that his country is not comfortable with any level of civilian casualties in Gaza, and that it wants the casualties to stop completely.

In Cairo, the Egyptian presidency said that President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi assured Burns that Egypt rejected the continuation of military operations in the Gaza Strip, stressing during their meeting yesterday, Tuesday in Cairo, the importance of the international community fulfilling its responsibilities in stopping the war and delivering relief aid.

For its part, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said that Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani discussed yesterday with US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf the situation in the Gaza Strip and the occupied Palestinian territories and developments in joint mediation efforts to end the war on the Strip.

"Systematic failure"

On the other hand, Israeli media said that every time the negotiations progressed, Netanyahu deliberately issued harsh statements against the deal and asked his ministers to attack the proposals.

Haaretz newspaper explained that Netanyahu worked systematically in the past months to thwart reaching any agreement on an exchange deal, noting that he was leaking to the press information related to the keys to the negotiation.

The newspaper added that the Prime Minister used several methods to thwart the negotiations, including leaking confidential information that was presented during consultations with the negotiating team. He also deliberately issued statements against the deal in the name of a political source every time the negotiations progressed.

Last Sunday, Netanyahu said that any exchange deal with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) must allow Israel to continue fighting, while opposition leader Yair Lapid questioned the benefit of such “provocative statements” at this stage of the negotiation.

He added - in a statement from his office - that the proposal approved by Israel allows the return of “hostages without compromising on the war goals that must be achieved,” and that the return of thousands of what he called militants to northern Gaza cannot be under the deal.