“Israeli” Delegation to Head to Doha for Talks Over Captives After Security Cabinet Ok

By Staff, Agencies

The “Israeli” entity’s negotiating team is expected in Doha on Monday after the security cabinet is said to have approved on Sunday night the dispatch of the delegation to Qatar for indirect talks about a temporary truce in Gaza and the release of captives.

The delegation, led by Mossad director David Barnea, received a “general mandate” to conduct negotiations via Qatari and Egyptian mediators, Walla reported Sunday night, citing a senior “Israeli” official. Some of the issues related to the negotiations will need to be weighed and approved separately by the “Israeli” entity’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and War Minister Yoav Gallant, the report said.

Ynet reported that the negotiating team asked for “a significant amount of time to conduct the negotiations so that it would be possible to improve the deal, and to deliver an outline that we can stand behind.”

An “Israeli” official cited by Ynet said: “We need to change the deal, it is important that we arrive with significant flexibility.”

A source told Reuters that the Qatar discussions will cover the remaining gaps between the entity and Hamas, including the number of Palestinian prisoners who could potentially be released in exchange for the remaining “Israeli” captives, as well as humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The expected talks on Monday would mark the first time both “Israeli” officials and Hamas leaders join the indirect negotiations since the start of the holy month of Ramadan last week. Mediators had hoped to secure a six-week truce before then, but Hamas refused any deal that wouldn’t lead to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, a demand the “Israeli” entity flatly rejects.

Over the past week, however, both sides have made moves aimed at getting the talks, which never fully broke off, back on track.

The entity has adamantly ruled out a permanent ceasefire, and insists it will resume its declared goal of destroying Hamas once any captive-truce deal is carried out.

The “Israeli” entity has also signaled its intent to launch an aggression in the southernmost city of Rafah. The expected attack has strained ties with the US amid concerns over the safety of noncombatants who could be caught in the warzone.

A temporary truce would bring a welcome pause to the devastating war in Gaza, sparked in the aftermath of the October 7 Operation Al-Aqsa Flood across the southern of the “Israeli” entity.

The “Israeli” military campaign has devastated large swathes of Gaza, destroyed hospitals and displaced a major proportion of the population of 2.4 million in the world’s “largest open-air prison.”

A weeklong ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Egypt in late November secured the release of 105 captives.

The “Israeli” delegation had been said to be ready to travel to Doha for further talks on Saturday, but the two forums needed to approve the entity's position in the negotiations – the three-member war cabinet and the broader security cabinet – had yet to convene to discuss the matter.

Both cabinets met on Sunday night amid protests in al-Quds [Jerusalem] and “Tel Aviv” demanding a deal to release the captives.

The Tel Aviv regime has faced increasing pressure by families of the captives and their supporters who have urged reaching a deal to release the captives as soon as possible, fearing that dragging out their captivity, already in its sixth month, presents a mounting daily danger to their lives.

An “Israeli” official told Channel 12 earlier during the meetings that the delegation needed “flexibility from the political leadership” to reach agreements. “The goal is to bring a good deal that can be acceptable to the ‘Israeli’ public. It is possible,” the official said.

US officials are also expected in Doha Monday for the talks.

Earlier Sunday, Netanyahu denied reports that he had sought to push off deciding on the negotiating team’s mandate for the Doha talks, and had refused to hold a meeting on Saturday on the matter, thereby apparently delaying the departure of the team.

Over the weekend, Hebrew media reports said the process of releasing the delegation was held up because the war cabinet wrapped up a Friday meeting early in order to finish before Shabbat started at sunset.

Also, the Kan public broadcaster reported that MK Aryeh Deri, leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, opposed the team traveling on Shabbat, asserting that the talks were not a matter of immediate life and death. Deri denied the report, which had prompted criticism from opposition lawmakers.