UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said the proposal was for a “sustained” 40-day cease-fire that would see Israeli hostages exchanged for Palestinian prisoners.
JERUSALEM — Mediators expressed hope Monday, once again, that Israel and Hamas were inching toward an agreement to halt fighting in Gaza and release dozens of Israeli hostages still held captive there.
Speaking at a World Economic Forum event in Riyadh, Blinken described a “major effort” involving Qatar, Egypt and others. “Right now … Hamas has before it a proposal that is extraordinarily, extraordinarily generous on the part of Israel,” Blinken said. . Israel had originally demanded 40 be released, while Hamas offered just 20 in its rejection of the last proposal. Cameron said a deal could see thousands of Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli jails in exchange.But those figures are just one piece of a complex diplomatic puzzle.
Egyptian officials who visited Israel for talks on Friday said they were encouraged to hear Israeli cabinet officials “for the first time” accept the idea of a long-lasting halt to the fighting and express willingness to hold off on attacking Rafah if a deal can be reached, according to the former Egyptian official.
The Israeli government is under intense pressure from hostage families to reach an accord. Daily protests are growing, including a crowd of hundreds who shouted outside the house of war cabinet member Benny Gantz on Sunday.Moderates have become more willing to push back on government hard-liners who call for continuing military action over peace talks. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, for example, told Israeli media Sunday that reaching a deal in Cairo would amount to a “humiliating surrender.
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