BEIJING, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) confirmed on January 30 that it had received a proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and would respond to it after studying.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu poured cold water on the ceasefire talks on the same day, saying that Israel would not release Palestinian detainees or withdraw its troops from the Gaza Strip until it achieved a "complete victory". The release and withdrawal of troops are the two major demands of Hamas in this round of ceasefire talks.
The programme is divided into four phases.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said on 30 January that Hamas's priority was to end Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip and to allow the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip. He said later that he would accept an invitation from the Egyptian side to Cairo to discuss the plan; Hamas is "open" to all proposals that would put an end to Israel's aggression against the Gaza Strip.
This photograph, taken on the Israeli side of the Gaza border on January 29, shows rockets fired from the Gaza Strip leaving smoke trails in the air. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Jill Cohen Magen).
The first round of negotiations on a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas was held in Paris on 28 January, with the participation of Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman and the heads of the intelligence services of the United States, Israel and Egypt. Hamas and Israel refused to negotiate face-to-face, with Egypt and Qatar participating in the negotiations on behalf of Hamas. An informed participant in the meeting said that Egyptian intelligence** conveyed the proposed framework of agreement to Hamas in the southern Gaza city of Rafah on 29 January.
According to two people familiar with the matter, the framework of the ceasefire agreement consists of four phases. The first phase includes a ceasefire between the two sides for at least one month, with Palestinian militants releasing elderly, civilian women and juvenile detainees in exchange for aid such as food and medicine entering the Gaza Strip.
People receive relief supplies from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for the Near East (UNRWA) in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah on 28 January. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Khalid Omar).
In the second phase, Palestinian militants released Israeli women soldiers in exchange for allowing more aid to enter the Gaza Strip and repairing damaged public services such as water, electricity and electricity in the Gaza Strip.
In the third phase, Palestinian militants will return the bodies of Israeli soldiers to the Israeli side in exchange for the release of Palestinian detainees.
The two people also said that although Israel has not committed to a long-term ceasefire, the ultimate goal of the above-mentioned phased measures is the fourth phase, that is, the cessation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the release of Israeli male soldiers by Palestinian militants in exchange for the release of more Palestinian detainees.
Reuters, citing a source with knowledge of the negotiations, reported that the parties at the meeting "agreed" on the concepts conveyed by the framework of the agreement, but important details at each stage still needed to be explained. Even if Hamas agrees to the framework of the agreement, it will take days or even weeks to agree on the coordination of logistics related to the ceasefire and the release of detainees.
The Israeli side adheres to the set goals.
Speaking at a Jewish settlement in the West Bank on January 30, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had heard all the talk about the ceasefire and that he wanted to "make it clear" that "Israel will not end the war" until all the goals are achieved, namely, the elimination of Hamas, the rescue of all detained Israelis, and the assurance that the Gaza Strip no longer poses a threat to Israel.
People march through the streets of Jerusalem on January 24. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Junqing.
Senior Hamas member Sami Abu Zuhri responded that Netanyahu's comments proved that he was "not interested in the success of the current ceasefire talks and does not care about the lives of Israeli detainees."
According to Reuters, Netanyahu is currently under pressure both internally and externally. On the diplomatic front, the United States has put pressure on the Israeli side to end the current round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict at an early date. The United States recently disclosed that the United States is considering suspending or slowing down arms sales to Israel in order to put pressure on Israel and urge it to pay attention to US demands.
On the domestic front, Netanyahu** is under pressure from the detainees' families, who believe that ceasefire negotiations are the only way to get the detainees released. In addition, the far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened on January 30 that he would resign if Israel signed a "reckless" agreement with Hamas on the release of detainees.
Based on the statements of a number of foreign cables, it is not clear whether the Israeli side's statement on the ceasefire talks reflects the real situation of the behind-the-scenes consultations, or the information that the Israeli side deliberately released.
A source familiar with the ceasefire proposal said that Hamas delayed the release of Israeli male soldiers until the end in the hope of creating some restraint on the Israeli army. The number of days of the ceasefire and the number of detainees released in the ceasefire agreement could be adjusted, but the agreement includes "what is really important to both sides of the Palestinian and Israeli sides" and can lead to a "win-win" situation. (Wang Yijun).