This is nuts. Every negotiation should begin with, “release all of the hostages, and then…”
Riyadh and JerusalemCNN —
Hamas is considering a new framework proposed by Egypt that calls for the group to release as many as 33 hostages kidnapped from Israel in exchange for a pause in hostilities in Gaza, an Israeli source familiar with the negotiations and a foreign diplomatic source told CNN.
The latest proposal, which Israel helped craft but has not fully agreed to, is laid out in two phases, the first of which calls for 20 to 33 hostages to be released over several weeks in exchange for the pause and the release of Palestinian prisoners. The second phase is what sources described as the “restoration of sustainable calm,” during which the remaining hostages, captive Israeli soldiers and the bodies of hostages would be exchanged for more Palestinian prisoners.
The diplomatic source familiar with the talks said the reference to sustainable calm was “a way to agree to a permanent ceasefire without calling it that.”
There are two glaring false assumptions involved here. The first is that Hamas has very many living hostages left to exchange. The second is that Hamas places any value at all on the Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Hamas is not in any position to negotiate as long as Israel insists on the exchanges as a precondition to any ceasefire. Hamas likely cannot comply.
Hamas has only bad choices left.
>Hamas places any value at all on the Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
I think they value the Hamas military members. Every one released has the potential of killing more Jewish people than they currently hold captive.