Posted on 01/27/2024 9:30:59 PM PST by KingofZion
American-led negotiators are edging closer to an agreement in which Israel would suspend its war in Gaza for about two months in exchange for the release of more than 100 hostages still held by Hamas, a deal that could be sealed in the next two weeks and would transform the conflict consuming the region.
Negotiators have developed a written draft agreement merging proposals offered by Israel and Hamas in the last 10 days into a basic framework that will be the subject of talks in Paris on Sunday. While there are still important disagreements to be worked out, negotiators are cautiously optimistic that a final accord is within reach, according to U.S. officials who insisted on anonymity to discuss sensitive talks....
The deal now coming together would be more expansive in scope than the previous one, officials say. In the first phase, fighting would stop for about 30 days while women, elderly and wounded hostages were released by Hamas. During that period, the two sides would work out details of a second phase that would suspend military operations for roughly another 30 days in exchange for Israeli soldiers and male civilians being held. The ratio of Palestinians to be released from Israeli prisons is still to be negotiated but that is viewed as a solvable issue. The deal would also allow for more humanitarian aid into Gaza.
While the agreement would not be the permanent cease-fire that Hamas has demanded for the release of all hostages, officials close to the talks believe that if Israel halts the war for two months, it would likely not resume it in the same way that it has waged it until now. The truce would provide a window for further diplomacy that could lead to a broader resolution of the conflict.
***MORE
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
How many rockets per day will the Pali’s get to shoot at Israel during this cessation of hostilities?
Make sure Hamas understand how long a week is. Their definition of time is a lot shorter than the rest of the world’s.
IT DID NOT TAKE 2 months for HAMAS to grab those hostages.
IT SHOULD NOT TAKE 2 months to get them back.
THIS IS BS.
Bump
In WWII, we knew Japanese hell ships were transporting POWs sometimes. We knew POWs were in Japan, being used as slave labor.
We still had our subs sink every cargo ship we could find. We still bombed Japan. We still nuked Hiroshima. 12 American POWs died in the blast.
It’s tragic, but you have to proceed as though those hostages are dead. Try as hard as you can to save any you can. But stopping the whole war because of hostages only guarantees hostage taking will continue and increase.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.