Alwaght- While Israeli regime in recent days has put forward plans to return to the war on Gaza and set a 10-day deadline for Hamas to meet its demands, it seems that the pressure of the mediators on Tel Aviv to resume talks for second round of ceasefire talks have yielded results.
On Saturday, Hamas announced that there are positive indications for start of the negotiations on the second stage of the ceasefire and that it sent a delegation to Cairo for talks.
“We confirm our readiness to participate in the second phase of negotiations in a way that meets the demands of our people, and we call for intensified efforts to help the Gaza Strip and lift the siege on our suffering people,” Hamas spokesman Abdul-Latif al-Qanua said in a statement.
On the other hand, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced after a meeting with a group of senior ministers and heads of security services that “Israel has accepted the invitation of the US-backed mediators and will send a delegation to Doha on Monday to advance the negotiations.” In this regard, Israeli media reported that the deputy head of the Shin Bet will lead the Israeli negotiating team in Doha.
Axios, citing US officials, reported that US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Doha next Tuesday to mediate a new agreement between Israel and Hamas.
A senior Israeli official also said that Witkoff wants to bring all parties together in one place for several days and begin intensive negotiations to reach an agreement.
Israeli media sources have reported that regional mediators, including Egypt and Qatar, are waiting for Witkoff's regional visit. Accordingly, the talks may include a new offer from Washington to extend the ceasefire for several months in exchange for the release of 10 Israeli prisoners, but the exact timeframe has not been specified.
According to these reports, negotiations on this offer will be held directly between the US and Hamas, and the Israeli regime will not interfere in it.
Mutual conditions on the table
Despite the green light for talks, the two sides have set conditions for engaging in the negotiations.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Ghassem cited "prisoner swap, full Israeli exit from Gaza, and permanent ceasefire in Gaza" as the three main conditions of the movement for the talks. Mahmoud Mardawi, a leader of Hamas, stressed that this movement still insists on the existing agreement and entry to the second stage of negotiations according to the agreed-upon framework and that reports of it accepting temporary ceasefire are false.
On the other hand, Tel Aviv, contrary to its previous commitments in the three-stage agreement of January, is demanding the release of all prisoners without providing guarantees for an end to the war. The regime has also raised new issues in the negotiations that were previously considered red lines for the resistance movement. In this round of talks, the Israelis have demanded the disarmament of Hamas and its removal from the political and security structures of Gaza, which the resistance leaders have strongly opposed and have declared as a red line for the Palestinians.
The Gaza ceasefire agreement, which came into effect in January, projects the release of the remaining 59 Israeli prisoners in the second stage, at which point the final plans for ending the war will be negotiated.
In recent months, many efforts have been made to end the genocidal war in Gaza. Despite previous negotiations, disagreements over the future military presence of the occupation army have prevented a final agreement from being reached. However, in the weeks leading up to the second round of talks, there have been some developments that have raised hopes for a deal.
The US government, which in recent weeks has become part of the military campaign threatening Gaza to force Hamas release all prisoners and severity of Trump's stance against Gaza has even outstripped Netanyahu's, is now claiming to be trying to push for an agreement that would lead to the release of all remaining prisoners, extend the ceasefire beyond the holy month of Ramadan and Passover, and possibly lead to a long-term ceasefire to end the war.
Meanwhile, Egypt is facing anew situation in meditation of the talks. Following Trump's controversial statements regarding the need to evacuate and relocate the residents of Gaza as a precondition for its reconstruction, Cairo has taken the lead in the Arab campaign to oppose this plan and has proposed a three-stage initiative for the future of Gaza without the need for its residents to migrate abroad.
Therefore, in this round of negotiations, the government of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is following the progress of the negotiations and preventing the resumption of the war with greater sensitivity. In this regard, we can mention the increased Egyptian efforts to reach an agreement between the Fatah and Hamas committees on the future mechanism for administration of Gaza.
Hamas gives go ahead to formation of Gaza administration committee
One of the major sticking points in this round of talks is the way of administration of Gaza post-war. Hamas has its own plans. In a statement, it announced formation of a committee comprised of "national and independent figures" for administration of Gaza until holding elections. Thid committee will run Gaza until parliamentary and presidential elections are held.
El-Sisi said that Cairo, in cooperation with the Palestinians, is working to establish an administrative committee consisting of independent Palestinian experts that will take over the administration of Gaza after the end of the war.
The aim of this measure is to pave the way for organizing the Palestinian political structure and holding elections. Hamas’s agreement to form an independent committee indicates the movement’s willingness to temporarily transfer the administration of the region to a neutral institution in order to pave the way for organizing Palestinian internal affairs and holding general elections.
On the other hand, this measure could be an important step towards national Palestinian unity and facilitating the reconstruction process and improving humanitarian conditions in Gaza. The movement has emphasized that the border crossings must be opened without any preconditions so that relief aid can reach Gaza.
Also, by temporarily handing over the administration to an independent committee, it will be possible to hold free and fair elections in the near future, which could lead to strengthening the legitimacy of Palestinian institutions and advancing the rights of the Palestinian people.
By approving of this plan, Hamas affirmatively responded to the regional and international demands for formation of a new governing structure, something that can ease the foreign pressures and improve the movement's foreign relations. This will wrest from the hardline Israeli leaders the excuse to attack Gaza under the aim of destruction of Hamas, though Netanyahu and his cabal consider all Palestinians as hostile as Hamas and seek their destruction.
Internal pressures on Netanyahu
In addition to the international community pressures for end of war, the government of Israeli PM is under pressure internally for returning the prisoners. In this connection, on Saturday, hundreds of Israeli settlers protested in Tel Aviv, calling for release of all prisoners.
The committee of families of prisoners in Gaza stated: "We are in a state of emergency and there is a possibility of a renewed war on Gaza this week... The war will kill the prisoners and Netanyahu has played with their lives for his own interests."
The families stressed that Netanyahu is seeking to fan a crisis in the ceasefire agreement negotiations so that he can return to war.
The wife of Matan Angrest, the Israeli prisoner in Hamas captivity whose footage was recently published by Hamas, in a letter along with 56 released prisoners to the parliament and government warned that Tel Aviv now faces a choice between resuming war and swapping the prisoners. The letter added that Israeli attacks threaten lives of the prisoners and return to war will reduce their chance of staying alive.
Despite the fact that Doha talks are a significant step towards a sustainable peace in Gaza, the key remaining differences between Hamas and Tel Aviv continue to pose a serious challenge to full end of war. However, the role of the US and other mediators is crucial to desuade Israel from returning to war.
