Israel has proposed a temporary ceasefire extension in Gaza for Ramadan and Passover holidays, with the Prime Minister’s Office announcing around midnight on Saturday as the initial phase of the truce expires.
This seems to be the Israeli government’s efforts to make its opening negotiation stance clear, as IT and Hamas strive to move from the first phase of the ceasefire to the second phase of the initially requested, more comprehensive, more comprehensive phase.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Israel announced that it was following a cabinet meeting led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and was attended by Israel’s Defense Minister, senior defense officials and a negotiating team.
However, there is still a lot of uncertainty about what will happen next in Gaza. A Hamas spokesman told Arab TV earlier on Saturday that armed groups rejected Israel’s extension framework, Reuters reported.
At least for the time being, Israel and Hamas have reasons to avoid another round of battle. Hamas wants to give its troops a chance to recover, while Israel wants to take the rest of the hostages home. However, the prospect of reaching a comprehensive agreement seems far away.
Aaron David Miller said Hamas is unlikely to accept Israel’s proposal. Former State Department Middle East analyst and negotiator is now a senior fellow at the Carnegie International Peace Endowment Foundation. He said the proposal “allows Israelis to restore hostages without making reciprocity commitments.”
According to the Israeli proposal, the proposal was attributed to the region’s U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, who has half of the remaining hostages held in Gaza will be released to Israel on the first day of the deal.
If a permanent truce is reached at the end of the temporary expansion, the remaining hostages will be returned.
The Muslim Holy Month of Ramadan begins on the weekend and ends at the end of March, while the Jewish Passover holiday will begin on the evening of April 12 and until April 20. Under the proposal, they will jointly give Israel and Hamas about seven weeks to reach a comprehensive agreement.
“Hamas will not return all hostages until Steelclad assured that the Israelis will withdraw their troops and formally declare and comply before the war is over,” Miller said. “No one will give Hamas a guarantee.”
Israel and Hamas alleged that they violated a consistent deal, which was raised in the last few days of the Biden administration. The first phase of the deal, ending on March 1, allows for a six-week truce to negotiate terms to end the war.
The terms of the agreement include the exchange of Israeli hostages as Palestinian prisoners. Last weekend, Israel delayed the release of hundreds of prisoners in protest against Hamas’ promotion of Israeli hostages on public glasses before handing over.
Negotiations between Hamas and Israel, which believe this weekend has not begun seriously, have not begun, although officials from all sides did visit Cairo, the Egyptian capital, to discuss the next step. Mr Netanyahu said Israel is ready to resume combat if Hamas does not voluntarily disarm.
Hamas avoided calls for a resumption of hostilities, although the group refused to surrender.
