"Critical day" for Gaza negotiations, Israeli security agencies warn of partial swap deal

Postponement complicates issues

Military officials believe that postponing the discussion of the main issues does not bring them closer to resolving them, and may even be the opposite. They point out that releasing a small number of prisoners will ease popular and international pressure on Netanyahu’s government, but the release of Palestinian prisoners with high positions in Hamas, along with a ceasefire and the entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip, will give Hamas a break that will enable it to resume fighting, according to the officials.

They also stressed that Hamas would not agree to any agreement that did not include an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip or most of it, an end to the war, and a mass release of prisoners.

They also noted that "reaching a small deal would lead to the Israeli army withdrawing from certain areas and easing pressure on Hamas, making it less likely to make concessions in subsequent negotiations."

The report pointed out that Netanyahu's tactic of insisting on not discussing the second part of the deal, which includes withdrawal and ending the war - except in the middle of the first stage only - will enable him to tell his partners on the far right that he does not intend to go beyond the first stage.

Therefore, the report believes that Netanyahu's negotiating team's attachment of a large list of names - those whom Israel demands to be released as part of the "humanitarian agreement" - is due to his awareness that there will be no second phase of the deal.

The reporter concluded his report by quoting a senior military source as saying, “Those who deal with the issue will face a big problem, whether with public opinion or families, and this terrible conflict, as a result of narrow political considerations, divides families and weakens them as well.”

"It has become clear that the crisis, which was already stuck in the same place last year, is still there," he commented.

Source: Israeli press