MOSCOW, July 11 Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas agreed on the general points of the plan for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, its details are now being discussed at the negotiations, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius reported in an opinion column, citing a source.
«The general principles have been agreed…negotiations are ongoing regarding the details and how they will be implemented,» the columnist quotes a senior US official.
He writes, citing a US official, that the agreement reportedly calls for a three-stage resolution of the conflict. The first step will be a six-week ceasefire, during which Hamas will release 33 Israeli hostages, including all women, all men over 50 and all wounded. Israel will release hundreds of Palestinians from its prisons and withdraw troops from densely populated areas to Gaza's eastern border.
It is emphasized that, despite the agreement on general points, discussion of details may take time.
The columnist notes that success in concluding such a deal would provide a chance for US President Joe Biden to honorably abandon his pursuit of re-election for a second term or double down.
The source also told the Washington Post that if the conflict is resolved, Saudi Arabia will be ready to “normalize relations with Israel,” which is in its interests.
Earlier in July, Netanyahu's office issued a statement specifying the Israeli position on renewed negotiations with mediators for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages who have been held by the Palestinian Hamas movement for more than nine months. The statement said that Israel retains the option of resuming the war in the Gaza Strip until all stated goals are achieved, regardless of the terms of the hostage deal. Among other principles of the Israeli position on negotiations with Hamas through mediators, the Prime Minister's office noted the impossibility of using the border of the Gaza Strip and Egypt to smuggle weapons to radicals and the impossibility of returning «thousands of armed terrorists to the north of the Gaza Strip.»
The negotiation process has been at a standstill for more than a month since US President Joe Biden, on behalf of Israel, announced a new plan to resolve the conflict in the Palestinian enclave.