Hamas and Israel’s Final Push!

Negotiations between Israel and Hamas began on Monday in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Regardless of the outcome, the mere fact that these talks are being held on the second anniversary of the October 7th attack signifies that Israel is seeking to end the devastating war it launched in response to that attack with the aim of destroying Hamas, by reaching an agreement with that very entity.

Saber Gol-Anbari, Journalist:

Negotiations between Israel and Hamas began on Monday in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Regardless of the outcome, the mere fact that these talks are being held on the second anniversary of the October 7th attack signifies that Israel is seeking to end the devastating war it launched in response to that attack with the aim of destroying Hamas, by reaching an agreement with that very entity.

So far, two rounds of talks have been held in Sharm El-Sheikh; the first round was preliminary, and today’s meeting has moved into discussing contentious issues. According to Israeli and Arab sources, Benjamin Netanyahu has so far focused on negotiating the details of the first phase of the Trump plan—namely, the release of hostages. In contrast, Hamas wants to reach a final agreement and, to that end, has demanded international guarantees for a complete cessation of the war and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, making the release of the last Israeli hostage conditional on the withdrawal of the last Israeli soldier from the area. According to Israeli sources, Hamas is not willing to negotiate disarmament. It is clear that the Sharm El-Sheikh negotiations face complex challenges and obstacles, and reaching an agreement will not be easy. However, what could increase the chances of a deal is the existence of collective will and determination to achieve it. The travel of Qatar’s Prime Minister, the head of Turkish Intelligence, and Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, to Egypt to participate in the negotiations starting tomorrow is a sign of the seriousness and effort by all parties to reach an agreement.

Donald Trump’s persistent follow-up and repeated statements about the negotiations also make it clear that, whether motivated by a desire to receive the Nobel Peace Prize or for other reasons, he is intensely pursuing a deal and seems more serious this time than ever before. So much so that the website “Axios,” citing a US official, reported that Witkoff and Kushner will not leave Egypt before an agreement is reached. Meanwhile, Netanyahu, for the first time in an interview with an American media outlet, spoke of the war nearing its end. The reality is, as reported by the Israeli newspaper “Yedioth Ahronoth,” the prolongation of the Gaza war for two years has become very costly for Israel itself, has been counterproductive for a long time, and the application of maximum military pressure has also failed to force Hamas to surrender.

In this situation, it seems that Hamas, understanding Trump’s strong desire for a deal, is engaging in maximum bargaining to achieve its demands: stopping the war, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and signing a final agreement where challenging issues like disarmament—essentially leaving no loophole for a return to war or the continued presence of Israeli forces—are resolved. It remains unclear how successful Hamas will be in achieving this goal in the negotiations. It can now be said that as of Wednesday, the Gaza war has entered its most serious phase of negotiations in these two years, where both sides are making their final push to secure a potential agreement by gaining more concessions and giving fewer. The coming days will be decisive, and it remains to be seen whether the presence of high-level officials from Qatar, Turkey, Egypt, and the US in the negotiations can untangle the knots to reach an agreement. Of course, it should be noted that this is the first time Turkey is directly participating in these negotiations. Recently, Ankara and President Erdogan personally have been playing a prominent role in this regard.

Source: Khorasan Newspaper. No. 21884