FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
After weeks and weeks of secret negotiations involving CIA and Mossad leaders, Israeli, Egyptian and US government officials, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to grant Hamas a "four-day ceasefire"...
Everything has a price in the Middle East, especially the release of "prisoners". As 24 of the hostages kidnapped during the Hamas terror attack were preparing to return to Israel after being transferred to Egypt, 39 Palestinian prisoners were released from the Ofer military prison in the West Bank.
The exchange was based on the success of secret diplomacy, which, going through Washington and Cairo, found a valuable ally in Qatar to reach the agreement of a four-day ceasefire, starting at 07.00 on Friday 24 November.
After the ceasefire came into force, Jerusalem and the emissaries of the other side started the procedures for the exchange. As a convoy of 200 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid, including long-awaited fuel, entered the Gaza Strip to bring essential aid from outside the enclave to the Palestinian population exhausted after 49 days of war.
Secret diplomacy in Doha
So, after weeks and weeks of secret negotiations involving CIA and Mossad leaders, Israeli, Egyptian and US government officials, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed - despite initial reluctance - to grant Hamas a "four-year ceasefire -daily" under pressure from the United States. The result was achieved thanks to the decisive mediation agreed with Qatar through Emir Tamim bin Hamad al Thani. This allowed Jerusalem to bring home some of the 240 hostages seized by Hamas after the bloody attack on the kibbutz on October 7.
Of these at least "100 prisoners cannot be found", declared Hamas. They are suspected to be in the hands of jihadist groups not under the direct control of the paramilitary organization led by Ismail Haniyeh.
Another 13 Israelis, all minors, will be released today. The process should be the same as yesterday: they will leave Gaza through the Rafah crossing and once they reach Egyptian territory they will be handed over to Shin Bet agents, the intelligence service that verified the identity and physical condition of the hostages to begin the procedure of repatriation through the Kerem Shalom crossing, from which they arrive at a military base in the Negev to board Sh-53 Yasur military helicopters and reach their final destination: their families.
According to what was also confirmed by an Israeli government official, the final deal calls for the release of 50 hostages - not including the 10 Thai hostages taken through a parallel deal reached with Hamas - in exchange for 150 Palestinians detained in Israel.
CIA, Mossad and the role of Qatar
The agreement to negotiate the release of the hostages and obtain a cease-fire appears to be thanks to pressure from the Americans: - Secretary of State Antony Blinken, CIA Director William Burns, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and the envoy for the East Middle, Brett McGurk.
The "cell", i.e. the team composed of Qatari diplomats, Egyptians and senior American officials to "work with the Israelis" in maximum secrecy, has meanwhile completed several negotiation meetings in Doha. Where the emissaries of Hamas, after relaying the "messages" to their leaders in Gaza, made the prisoner exchange agreement accepted by the Israelis.
While some international observers see the ceasefire as a sign that the war is "one step away from its end", Israelis and many analysts are convinced that there will be several more months of fighting ahead of this latest bloody chapter in the Israeli conflict. - the Israelis. The fate of the territories north of the Gaza Strip and the de facto capital of the enclave, Gaza City, destroyed by bombing and partially controlled by Israeli ground forces, is still a mystery that arouses great concern in the international community, which hopes for a final solution to the crisis. Until then, Israeli warplanes will continue to drop leaflets reading: “The war is not over yet. Returning to the north is prohibited and very dangerous." /Adapted "Pamphlet" from "Inside Over"
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