Hamas leader: We are waiting for the results of the Doha talks and this is our vision for the prisoner exchange deal

Starting today, Sunday, the Qatari capital, Doha, will witness talks, with the participation of the Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns, and the Head of the Israeli Foreign Intelligence Service (Mossad), David Barnea, to discuss the possibility of resuming negotiations on reaching a prisoner exchange deal with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

A senior leader in the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas said that the movement's officials "are waiting to see what will result from the Quartet meeting in the Qatari capital, Doha, today, Sunday, and to explore whether it is consistent with our known vision for achieving a deal or not."

The source confirmed in a statement to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that "the movement's vision in this regard is fixed, which is to immediately cease fire, end the genocide, starvation and displacement, withdraw the occupation from all the lands of the Gaza Strip, and provide relief and reconstruction."

The source, who requested anonymity, stressed that Hamas "wants an 'honorable' deal that is agreed upon by both parties, and this will be decided by the leadership when it receives a coherent proposal that the Israeli occupation agrees to without any ambiguity, and then the leadership will determine its position on it with the resistance factions."

The head of the Egyptian Intelligence Service, Major General Hassan Rashad, headed to the Qatari capital, Doha, yesterday, Saturday, to participate in the new round of negotiations on Gaza, and to discuss the Egyptian vision for establishing a temporary "humanitarian truce", as a first step towards a broader agreement. Rashad had met in Cairo with the heads of the Israeli Mossad and Shin Bet, David Barnea and Ronan Bar.

In turn, the head of Mossad headed to the Qatari capital, Doha, on Sunday, to hold a meeting with the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and the Director of the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns, according to what was announced by the office of the Prime Minister of the occupation, Benjamin Netanyahu, in order to hold new discussions regarding the prisoner exchange deal with the Hamas movement.

Channel 12 reported that "the head of Mossad went to Qatar with the aim of holding new talks regarding a prisoner and hostage exchange deal with Hamas, after the assassination of the head of the movement's political bureau, Yahya Sinwar."

In the same context, another Hamas leader confirmed, in statements to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, that “the occupation’s allegations about the movement’s position changing after the martyrdom of (Hamas leader) Yahya Sinwar are the talk of people who do not know how decisions are made in Hamas,” stressing that “Hamas’ constants and principles before Sinwar as well as after him, and that the movement will follow the same path that our people and leaders have followed.”

Regarding the course of the negotiations, the source said that "the movement is dealing positively with the efforts of mediators, whether Egyptian or Qatari, to cease fire in the Gaza Strip," stressing at the same time that "the movement has red lines that it has informed all mediators of over the past period, which are the complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the return of all displaced persons to their places of residence without discrimination between the north and the south, as well as the entry of what our people need in terms of relief and reconstruction."

The source, who requested anonymity due to his current involvement in the negotiations, downplayed the possibility of reaching a deal, given what he described as “the occupation’s intransigence and crimes against the Palestinian people,” saying that “any talk of calm or truce is nothing more than empty talk, inconsistent with the massacres taking place on the ground.”

Regarding the American efforts, the Hamas leader said, “The American side is not a mediator, but rather a partner and a basic and primary supporter of all these massacres that the occupation has been committing in the Gaza Strip over the course of more than a year of genocide. It also helps the Israeli occupation in evasion by using repeated talk about new proposals whenever the occupation commits massacres.”

In a joint press conference in Doha on Thursday, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was visiting the region, confirmed that negotiations on the exchange deal and ceasefire would resume in Doha.

Blinken said the ceasefire plan put forward by US President Joe Biden on May 31 was still on the table, but he also hinted at a willingness to explore "new frameworks" to seek the release of detainees.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Barnea would discuss with various parties in Doha "various options for starting negotiations to release the hostages held by Hamas in light of the latest developments."

A Hamas official confirmed that a delegation from the movement discussed proposals for a ceasefire with Egyptian officials in Cairo, according to Agence France-Presse.

Axios reported that the Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister met with a Hamas delegation a few days ago after the assassination of its political bureau chief Yahya Sinwar, and they informed him that they still adhere to their paper presented last August, in which the movement said that “the Palestinian people cannot accept partial deals today. Any effort to release prisoners held by Hamas must begin with a ceasefire.”

Last August, Hamas presented several key terms in the negotiating paper, which included stipulating a ceasefire and lifting the blockade on Gaza as an essential part of the agreement. Hamas also called for a mutual release of prisoners, whereby Palestinian prisoners would be released in exchange for the release of Israeli detainees, in addition to the withdrawal of Israeli forces from certain areas in Gaza, and the opening of crossings to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid.

The website indicated that Egypt and Israel are discussing reaching a short-term truce agreement, releasing a small number of prisoners, and providing humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been mediating between Israel and Hamas in talks for months, and negotiations broke down last August without reaching an agreement.

With American support, the ongoing Israeli genocidal war in Gaza, since October 7, 2023, has left more than 143,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, and more than 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and an unprecedented humanitarian disaster.

Source: Yemen Youth Net + Al-Araby Al-Jadeed + Agencies