The Biden administration pushed Israel to accept a new proposal during hostage negotiations in Cairo over the weekend that would force Israel to release at least 22 Palestinian terrorists and criminals for every one hostage that they would get in return from Hamas.
The proposal, introduced by CIA Director Bill Burns, calls for Israel to release 900 Palestinian terrorists and criminal in the first phase of the deal, CNN reported. The negotiations were attended by U.S. officials as well as officials from Qatar, Egypt, and Israel.
The previous round of talks, which Hamas rejected, included a push from the Biden administration for Israel to release 700 Palestinian terrorists and criminals.
In exchange, the Iranian-backed Hamas terrorist group would have to release 40 Israeli hostages who meet specific criteria.
Biden also wants Palestinians who had to travel south to avoid getting caught up in Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Northern Gaza to be able to return to their homes without restrictions.
This could cause serious problems for Israel’s forthcoming ground offensive in Rafah as Hamas terrorists could try to make their way back north with civilians who are returning to their homes and could lead to a reemergence of Hamas in Northern Gaza.
However, the deal might not even be possible because Hamas reportedly informed officials on Monday that there are not 40 hostages who are still alive that meet the specific criteria that Israel is seeking.
“The first phase of the deal includes the release of women, female soldiers, men over the age of 50 and men under the age of 50 with serious medical conditions,” said Axios reporter Barak Ravid. “In recent negotiations, Hamas said it does not have 40 living hostages from these categories, the officials said.”
“The senior Israeli officials say they believe that is accurate and that a single-digit number of hostages from other categories would be needed to reach the release of 40 hostages,” he added. “The officials said Israel made it clear that if Hamas agreed to commit to this aspect of the deal, Israel would agree to compromises on the issue of the return of Palestinian civilians to the northern Gaza Strip. They added that the U.S. proposal includes a gradual and almost complete withdrawal of Israel from the corridor that splits the Gaza Strip and prevents Palestinians from returning to the north.”
The U.S. deal would completely remove Israeli checkpoints that prevent terrorists from escaping back to Northern Gaza.
“The Israeli official said he believes the Israeli concessions on the issue of the return of Palestinians to the northern Gaza Strip may be satisfactory for Hamas,” he added. “He said it is not clear though whether Hamas will agree to release hostages who are soldiers or men under the age of 50 — whom the official said Hamas views as critical to pressure Israel for a permanent ceasefire.”