Gaza cease-fire talks continue in Qatar, differences ‘solvable’: Israeli sources

Gaza cease-fire talks continue in Qatar, differences ‘solvable’: Israeli sources

Israeli premier meets his finance minister to convince him to stay in government after cease-fire deal

By Anadolu staff

JERUSALEM (AA) – Indirect talks with Hamas in Qatar to reach a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap deal are continuing, Israeli sources said on Wednesday.

"The talks will continue today as well and the differences are solvable," said the Israeli public broadcaster KAN, citing sources close to the talks.

The sources, however, did not specify the nature of the remaining differences between the two sides.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz to discuss the anticipated cease-fire deal with Hamas amid opposition to the agreement by coalition members, KAN said.

Netanyahu seeks to convince Smotrich to stay in the government and not to follow threats made by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to withdraw from the coalition if the deal is approved.

While Smotrich didn't declare a clear position toward the deal, he stressed his conditions for approving any agreement. The finance minister wants to continue the war against Hamas after the end of the cease-fire, reduce the quantities of aid to Gaza, and seize control of lands in Gaza permanently.

Ben-Gvir alone lacks the number of seats in the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) to topple the government.

Together, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich hold 14 seats in the Knesset, enough to bring down the government if they act in unison. However, Ben-Gvir’s six seats alone are insufficient for this move.

The government holds 68 of the 120-seat Knesset, requiring 61 seats to maintain its majority under the Israeli parliamentary system.

Qatar said on Tuesday that Gaza cease-fire negotiations are in their "final details" and that announcing an agreement is “imminent.”

Hamas also confirmed that a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap agreement is in “its final stages.”

Israel currently holds more than 11,000 Palestinian prisoners, while it is estimated that 98 Israelis are detained in Gaza. Hamas said that many Israeli captives have been killed in indiscriminate Israeli airstrikes.

Israel has continued a genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed more than 46,700 people, most of them women and children, since a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.


*Writing by Ahmed Asmar

Kaynak:Source of News

This news has been read 54 times in total

ADD A COMMENT to TO THE NEWS
UYARI: Küfür, hakaret, rencide edici cümleler veya imalar, inançlara saldırı içeren, imla kuralları ile yazılmamış,
Türkçe karakter kullanılmayan ve büyük harflerle yazılmış yorumlar onaylanmamaktadır.
Previous and Next News