A ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas – that is the core of today’s negotiations in Qatar’s capital Doha. The result could prevent a conflagration in the Middle East.
In Israel, many see the new round of negotiations as the last chance to get a large number of hostages out of the Gaza Strip alive. This puts Prime Minister Netanyahu under great pressure. He is accused of having hindered the conclusion of an agreement in the past by imposing new conditions. At the same time, Netanyahu’s right-wing extremist partners in the government coalition are rejecting an agreement, seeing it as a capitulation to Hamas.
Israeli media unanimously report that Netanyahu has now given the Israeli negotiators more room to maneuver before the new round of talks. Negotiations are to be held on a framework agreement presented by the mediators, which initially provides for the release of a large group of hostages and a six-week ceasefire in the first stage. This is then to lead to a permanent end to the fighting.
Escalation could be prevented
Hamas doubts Israel’s willingness to implement this plan and various representatives of the group have declared that they will not take part in the new talks, at least not for the time being. However, Hamas is present at the negotiation venue in Doha, Qatar. It is likely that the negotiators, who include Qatar, Egypt and the USA, will inform Hamas about the status of the talks. Observers expect difficult indirect negotiations.
A positive outcome is linked to the hope that a major escalation between Israel on the one hand and Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia on the other can be prevented.