The Israeli war cabinet has decided to send a delegation to Doha, Qatar to continue talks for the release of captives held in the Gaza Strip, the official Israeli broadcasting company KAN reported on Sunday.
The decision was made, according to KAN radio, after Israeli ministers heard reports from negotiators and discussed in a conference call the outcome of consultations that were held with officials from the US, Qatar and Egypt in Paris on February 23 and 24 to broker a deal with the Palestinian Resistance Movement, Hamas.
KAN reported that a “delegation of specialists” will be traveling to Doha.
According to the radio station, the sides will discuss specific issues, including the names of Palestinian prisoners to be released.
Israel's war cabinet approves sending negotiators to Qatar to continue talks aimed at securing a ceasefire and the return of captives being held in Gaza
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The Israeli war cabinet overnight into Sunday started discussing the details of the deal that was agreed in Paris, according to the report.
According to KAN, the new deal would provide for the return of one captive held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for a one-day pause in hostilities and the release of 10 Palestinian captives from Israeli prisons.
According to the radio station, the agreement calls for a six-week pause in fighting.
The progress in the Israeli position seemed to be directly linked to two factors, first the continued failure of the Israeli war in Gaza and the growing anti-government sentiment in Israel.
‘Besiege the Knesset’
The Israeli newspaper Maariv reported on Sunday that former Prime Minister Ehud Barak called on Israeli Army Radio to besiege the Knesset.
Barak told Army Radio that “30,000 citizens should besiege the Knesset for three weeks day and night,” adding that when the state is “shut down,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will realize that his time is over and that trust in him is “non-existent.”
‘Besiege the Knesset’ – Ehud Barak Calls on Israelis to Take Action against Netanyahu
In a separate development, Hamas has warned that optimistic reports about the nearing of a prisoner exchange deal is exaggerated.
The comments were made by a Hamas official also on Sunday and were cited by Al-Jazeera.
This is a developing story ..
(PC, TASS, AJA)
