Withdrawal of Israeli troops, 5-7 years of ceasefire… new proposal presented to stop war in Gaza…will Netanyahu accept it?

Mediators from Egypt and Qatar, who are mediating ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, have presented a new formula for peace in Gaza, according to information quoting a Palestinian official familiar with the talks. The proposal talks about a ceasefire of five to seven years in Gaza, release of all Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, formal end of the war and complete withdrawal of Israeli army from Gaza. A delegation of extremist organization Hamas was about to reach Cairo to discuss the proposal.

Ceasefire was broken a month ago

Earlier this year, Israel and Hamas had agreed on a ceasefire, which broke down in March. After this, Israel resumed bombing Gaza. Both sides blamed each other for the failure to continue it. Israel has not yet commented on the mediators’ plan. The proposal is to be discussed in Cairo, in which Hamas’s political council chief Mohammad Darwish and its chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya will do it.

Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas

Earlier, Hamas rejected Israel’s latest proposal, which included a demand for disarmament from Hamas in exchange for a six-week ceasefire. On Saturday itself, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video message, in which he said that he would not surrender to Hamas . He said that Israel would not end the war until Hamas was destroyed and all the hostages were returned. Netanyahu described the ceasefire on Hamas’s terms as a surrender. At the same time, Hamas has demanded that Israel commit to ending the war before all the hostages are released.

Hamas may give up rule of Gaza

The BBC quoted a Palestinian official as saying that Hamas has indicated it would give up governance of Gaza and it could be handed over to any Palestinian entity agreed at national or regional level. This could be the Palestinian Authority (PA) that rules the West Bank or a newly formed administrative body. However, Netanyahu has ruled out any role for the Palestinian Authority in the future governance of Gaza.

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