According to the Haaretz newspaper, Barnea included the differences between the Israeli negotiating team and Netanyahu on the agreement in his presentation to the cabinet. He stated that the opposition between the team and Netanyahu stemmed from the prime minister’s insistence on establishing a mechanism to monitor the movement of Gazans from the south to the north. He said that Netanyahu’s insistence on his own view instead of the negotiating team’s proposal would prevent the prisoner swap and ceasefire negotiations with Hamas. Barnea pointed out that Netanyahu’s insistence could prevent the agreement, the first phase of which was planned to release women, the elderly and the sick, and noted that “female prisoners do not have time to wait.”
Details of the Consensus Proposal
- The prisoner swap agreement proposal indirectly negotiated between Israel and Hamas consists of three stages.
- First Stage: It envisages an immediate ceasefire, the release of women, elderly and wounded prisoners, the exchange of Palestinian prisoners, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas in Gaza, increased humanitarian aid, the reconstruction of basic services, the return of Palestinian civilians to their homes throughout the Gaza Strip, including northern Gaza, and the provision of the necessary housing contribution from the international community. If the negotiations for the first phase last more than 6 weeks, they will continue until the ceasefire negotiations are concluded.
- Second Stage:Following the agreement between the parties, the release of all remaining prisoners and the withdrawal of Israel from all of Gaza are required in order to finally end the crisis.
- Third Stage:It is planned to start a multi-year reconstruction plan for Gaza and to return the bodies of the dead prisoners.
