Post by account_disabled on Feb 24, 2024 23:22:16 GMT -6
Qatari negotiators are awaiting a final response from Hamas officials, who have apparently welcomed the plan. Israel agreed to a ceasefire proposal that would stop its war with Hamas, Al Jazeera reported Thursday, citing Qatar's Foreign Ministry. Hamas has reportedly given the plan a "positive" response. The ceasefire plan was discussed in Paris over the weekend, with Qatari and Egyptian diplomats mediating between Israel and the Palestinian militant group. Delegations from West Jerusalem and Gaza left the French capital promising to study the proposal and negotiate further this week, and by Thursday night a deal appeared to be within reach. "Israel accepted the ceasefire proposal and we have initial positive confirmation from Hamas." a spokesperson for Qatar's Foreign Ministry said Thursday night, according to Al Jazeera. "We are waiting for your response," the spokesperson added. The proposed ceasefire will be implemented in three stages, according to a Hamas statement shared with Reuters earlier this week. In the first phase, fighting would stop for 40 days while Hamas would hand over civilian women, children and the elderly it still holds captive.
During that time, large-scale shipments of food and medicine to Gaza would resume. In the following stages, Hamas would hand over captive Israeli soldiers and bodies of Israeli troops, in exchange for further aid deliveries and the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. "Military operations on both sides will stop during the three stages." the militants said, adding that the number of Palestinian prisoners released would be open to negotiation. The Algeria Mobile Number List proposal falls short of the full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza that Hamas initially demanded. However, as a step toward ending the war, it also threatens Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to continue fighting until Israel achieves “total victory” over the militants, as he has promised on multiple occasions. While hardliners within Netanyahu's cabinet have pressured him to reject any deal they consider too lenient with Hamas, Israel has faced international condemnation for its conduct in Gaza, and two of the Jewish state's staunchest supporters – The United States and the United Kingdom – suggested this week that they could soon recognize an independent Palestinian state.
Such an outcome would be a political disaster for Netanyahu, who angered Washington and London last month when he flatly rejected a two-state solution to the decades-long conflict with the Palestinians. READ MORE: Israel confirms flooding of Hamas tunnels Hamas fighters attacked Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking approximately 240 hostage. Israel responded by imposing a siege on Gaza and launching waves of airstrikes against the densely populated enclave. A ground operation was carried out three weeks later and, after almost four months of fighting, more than 27,000 Palestinians have been killed, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.Last week, Joshua Feuerstein, a far-right radical preacher and Republican candidate for the Texas House of Representatives, announced on social media that he was ready and willing to lead “an armed civilian militia to the border,” although it is unclear where those plans currently stand. Meanwhile, a self-described “progressive evangelical group” is also heading to Eagle Pdonkey, aiming to counter the Christian nationalist rhetoric of the “Army of God” convoy.
During that time, large-scale shipments of food and medicine to Gaza would resume. In the following stages, Hamas would hand over captive Israeli soldiers and bodies of Israeli troops, in exchange for further aid deliveries and the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. "Military operations on both sides will stop during the three stages." the militants said, adding that the number of Palestinian prisoners released would be open to negotiation. The Algeria Mobile Number List proposal falls short of the full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza that Hamas initially demanded. However, as a step toward ending the war, it also threatens Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to continue fighting until Israel achieves “total victory” over the militants, as he has promised on multiple occasions. While hardliners within Netanyahu's cabinet have pressured him to reject any deal they consider too lenient with Hamas, Israel has faced international condemnation for its conduct in Gaza, and two of the Jewish state's staunchest supporters – The United States and the United Kingdom – suggested this week that they could soon recognize an independent Palestinian state.
Such an outcome would be a political disaster for Netanyahu, who angered Washington and London last month when he flatly rejected a two-state solution to the decades-long conflict with the Palestinians. READ MORE: Israel confirms flooding of Hamas tunnels Hamas fighters attacked Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking approximately 240 hostage. Israel responded by imposing a siege on Gaza and launching waves of airstrikes against the densely populated enclave. A ground operation was carried out three weeks later and, after almost four months of fighting, more than 27,000 Palestinians have been killed, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.Last week, Joshua Feuerstein, a far-right radical preacher and Republican candidate for the Texas House of Representatives, announced on social media that he was ready and willing to lead “an armed civilian militia to the border,” although it is unclear where those plans currently stand. Meanwhile, a self-described “progressive evangelical group” is also heading to Eagle Pdonkey, aiming to counter the Christian nationalist rhetoric of the “Army of God” convoy.