Persistent disagreements between Israel and Hamas on six key points have foiled yet another US push to get a ceasefire deal for Gaza across the line.
Leaving Qatar on Tuesday at the end of his ninth trip to the region since the war began, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the focus must turn to doing everything possible to “get Hamas on board”, after Israel accepted a US “bridging proposal” to close the gaps between the two sides.
Few details have emerged about the so-called bridging proposal, but sources said it was essentially a compromise between US and Israeli positions with little or no input from Qatar and Egypt, the other two countries involved in mediating a truce.
Mr Blinken's contention that Hamas had no grounds to reject the proposal was a misrepresentation of the facts in Israel's favour, according to the sources, with wide gaps remaining between the two sides on everything from the duration of a ceasefire to the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners
1) Duration of ceasefire
Israel agrees to an initial 42-day truce as part of the first phase of the US proposals but it refuses to commit to continuing the truce beyond that, saying Hamas could drag out the talks on a lasting ceasefire proposed for the second phase, thereby preventing Israel from finishing off its military objectives in Gaza. Hamas on the other hand is demanding that the mediators should offer guarantees that the talks will produce a permanent ceasefire that ends the war once and for all.
2) Israeli troop withdrawal
Hamas wants Israel to fully withdraw from Gaza, while Israel insists on maintaining a troop presence to ensure the deadly October 7 attack by Hamas and its allies on southern Israel is not repeated. This includes keeping forces in the narrow strip that runs the entire length of the Egypt-Gaza border to prevent Hamas from smuggling in arms and dual-use material through tunnels. Israel also wants to keep forces along a motorway it has built that separates the enclave's north from its south.
3) Release of hostages
Hamas wants to release a small number of living hostages plus the remains of those who died in captivity during the first phase of the truce deal. Israel wants as many living hostages as possible freed in the first phase, including female soldiers. According to sources, the living hostages it is ready to release in the first phase will be dual US-Israeli nationals. The Palestinian group generally wants to keep the most prized hostages, such as Israeli active service members or officers, until the end, as strong bargaining chips to ensure Israel's compliance with the deal.
4) Release of Palestinian prisoners
Hamas wants the Palestinians released from Israeli prisons in exchange for the hostages to include about 50 high-profile figures and more than 160 others who were released in a prisoner and hostage swap in 2011 but were later rearrested. Besides refusing to free some of the high-profile Palestinians, Israel wants to send others into exile after their release, which Hamas objects to.
5) Return of Gazans to their homes
Hamas wants Palestinians displaced by the war to return to their homes unconditionally, including those who live in northern Gaza. Israel wants to screen the returnees to ensure that no militants slip through back to the north. The majority of Gaza's 2.3 million residents have been displaced, often multiple times, since the war began.
6) Postwar administration
Hamas is reportedly willing to step aside for a government of technocrats, drawn from all Palestinian factions, to run Gaza until legislative and presidential elections are held. Although this will end Hamas's control on Gaza that began in 2007 after its fighters expelled Palestinians loyal to the rival, occupied West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, sources say the group is counting on being re-elected. Israel is firmly opposed to the return to power of Hamas under any circumstances.
