Hamas and Israel are reported to be close to an agreement on a six-week ceasefire, which is reportedly to be implemented in three stages. In the first, 33 Israeli hostages are to be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. In a second step, the parties must release more and Israel must completely leave Gaza. Finally, Hamas must return the dead and Gaza must be rebuilt.
According to SVT’s Middle East correspondent Samir Abu Eid, it is possible that the parties will now reach a solution.
– It seems that the parties Israel and Hamas have never been as close to an agreement, a truce, as they are right now. Both should have approved a draft, a proposal for a truce, but there are still details, he says in Morgonstudion.
Samir Abu Eid says that an agreement could possibly be completed as early as this week – if the details are worked out. In that case, it would mean that the first Israeli hostages could be released already this weekend.
Israel will vote
At the same time, he emphasizes that nothing is ready yet and that the parties have been close to an agreement several times in the past year, but that it always fell on the details.
When the mediators present a fully negotiated ceasefire agreement, the Israeli government will vote on whether to approve it. But there are ministers in the Israeli government who are against a ceasefire and believe the war should continue.
– An agreement now, they believe, would mean that Israel surrenders to Hamas. But last night Israel’s foreign minister said it appeared a majority in the government would vote for a ceasefire.
“Peace will probably take a while”
While the negotiations are now said to be at a decisive stage, the Israeli attacks on Gaza and the occupied West Bank continue.
Hope for an end to the war is now being rekindled among people in the region. At the same time, it is unclear what will happen after six weeks, according to Samir Abu Eid.
– I think we are very close to a truce in any case, but when it comes to peace it will probably take longer. There are many observers and experts who believe that after this ceasefire the war will continue.