Hamas Signals Willingness to Modify Demands in Cairo Negotiations

Hamas negotiators in Cairo have expressed a willingness to adjust their previous demands, which had led to the collapse of hostage talks in Doha last month, according to an Israeli official and an Arab diplomat familiar with the matter.

Arab mediators conveyed this development to Israel. However, Jerusalem responded that it is not interested in another partial ceasefire and is only willing to forgo plans to take over Gaza City if Hamas agrees to all of its demands for ending the war, the Israeli official said.

Those demands include the release of all 50 remaining hostages, the disarmament of Hamas, and the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip.

The gaps on these issues are significant, particularly regarding the disarmament of Hamas. Arab mediators believe that this demand is a "poison pill" designed to derail the talks, as it would likely require ongoing intensive Israeli military operations in Gaza to verify compliance, the Arab diplomat said.

Instead, the Arab mediators prefer a gradual approach to dealing with Hamas's weapons, akin to the system in place in Lebanon. Arab countries are willing to contribute troops to this effort on the condition that it is at the invitation of the Palestinian Authority, the diplomat recalled.

However, another of Israel's conditions for ending the war is that the PA be barred from any governance role in Gaza, effectively preventing the Arab initiative from moving forward.

Despite opposition from Jerusalem, Egyptian and Qatari mediators plan to resume talks with Hamas on Saturday, aiming to secure the group's final approval on an updated proposal that closely aligns with the one authorized by the United States and Israel last month.

While characterized as a partial deal, the Arab diplomat stressed that it has the potential to evolve into a permanent ceasefire if successful negotiations occur during the envisioned 60-day truce. During that period, 10 living hostages and 18 bodies would be released in exchange for an agreed-upon number of Palestinian security prisoners.

The US and Israel withdrew their negotiators from Doha last month due to frustration over Hamas's demands regarding the scope of the Israeli military's withdrawal from Gaza, the humanitarian aid mechanisms during the truce, and the number of Palestinian security prisoners it was demanding, the Israeli official said.

If Hamas gives its final approval to a softened proposal in the coming days, mediators will present it to Israel, forcing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to decide whether to retreat from his declarations that he will no longer accept partial deals.

If he agrees to walk back those assertions, the sides will still have to hold another round of talks to agree on the Palestinian security prisoners to be released in the deal, the Arab diplomat clarified.

The Israeli official said that the security establishment will likely urge the political leadership to take the deal, as it will secure the release of at least 10 living hostages, whereas taking over Gaza City will risk the lives of some of those captives, with no guarantee that the military pressure will lead Hamas to capitulate.

Netanyahu currently feels that Hamas is buying time by expressing interest to mediators in a partial deal when it is not actually serious and that only military pressure will secure the release of all remaining hostages, the Israeli official added.

Meanwhile, Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu received a "dramatic" document from a "professional" source involved in the negotiations, expressing in writing Hamas's willingness to reach a partial deal after the group long insisted that it would only release additional hostages in exchange for an up-front Israeli commitment for a permanent ceasefire.

While Hamas appeared to forgo that demand earlier this summer, its subsequent demands were rejected by Israel and the US, leading to the talks' collapse.

The Arab diplomat argued that Israel raised new demands of its own in June relating to the scope of its withdrawal that led the talks to drag out before the US eventually convinced Netanyahu to come down from them. But by then, Hamas came back with new demands of its own, and the window of opportunity for a deal was missed, the diplomat said.

The remaining captives held by terror organizations in Gaza include 49 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023. They include the bodies of at least 28 confirmed dead by the Israel Defense Forces. Twenty are believed to be alive, and there are grave concerns for the well-being of two others, Israeli officials have said. Hamas is also holding the body of an IDF soldier killed in Gaza in 2014.