Cabinet approved sending the Israeli delegation to Qatar with a mandate to negotiate with Hamas

At the end of a discussion that lasted into the night, the expanded cabinet approved sending the Israeli delegation to Qatar with a mandate to hold negotiations on the abductee deal. It appears that on several issues the cabinet did not decide, and authorized Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Galant to decide separately.

"The discussion was difficult, but completely matter-of-fact in the part that dealt with the abductees," said officials who were present at the discussion, "the situation is not simple." Other sources stated: "There was a good and serious discussion. It is hard to say that we are optimistic. We are entering the negotiations, we can only hope that it will be successful."
The delegation that will leave today will be headed by the head of the Mossad, David (Dadi) Barnea, and even before the meeting of the general cabinet, the cabinet for the management of the war met - which discussed, among other things, the "limits of the sector" of the Israeli position in preparation for the talks.
The negotiation management team was formed in the war management cabinet, which convened as mentioned before the expanded cabinet. The expanded cabinet discussed this, and approved the issue. The cabinet also authorized Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant to discuss tactical details. The negotiating team asked that they give him "a shame It is significant to conduct the negotiations so that it is possible to improve the deal - and to come up with an outline that can be stood behind." A senior Israeli noted: "We need to change the deal, it is important that we arrive in Qatar with significant flexibility."
In the preparatory meetings for their departure, the members of the delegation in Doha proposed that close talks be held between Israel and Hamas mediated by Qatar and Egypt, similar to the negotiations that were conducted at the time on the Shalit deal. That is, that the Hamas delegation will sit in one building and the Israeli delegation in another - and the mediators will skip to get to the bottom of the details and close the existing gaps.
One of the cornerstones of the dispute is Hamas's demand to determine the identity of 150 serious prisoners, including murderers sentenced to life imprisonment - for whom Hamas will release five female soldiers. One of the options raised is to adopt the Shalit model so that Israel has a veto on the names put forward by Hamas. Fearing that this would cause a delay, the idea is that the names will be finalized in a few days during the close-up talks and not through an exchange of papers that will take weeks - if not months. Israel insists that the heavy murderers be deported abroad, while Hamas insists that they return home.
Another significant debate will be on the issue of the return of residents to northern Gaza. Hamas demands the full return and cancellation of the corridor under the control of the IDF that cuts off the Strip. Israel strongly opposes, and claims that the meaning would be the return of the north of the Strip to the control of Hamas. Israel is ready for a gradual return of women and children who are not of fighting age.
In addition, Israel firmly opposes Hamas's demand to allow Russia and Turkey to guarantee the deal. As far as Israel is concerned, this is an absolute "no". Another problematic point is Hamas's refusal to provide a list of names of live abductees who will be released in the humanitarian effort. Hamas first demands a week's respite, and only then will it be able to collect the names of the freed abductees. Israel fears that this is the opening of a scam similar to the one in the first hostage deal that exploded at the last beat - after Hamas claimed that "he does not have 10 living wives and children" - a claim that Israel believed based on intelligence to be false.
Senior security officials are very afraid that Netanyahu is doing everything to "keep away" a deal. According to them, they fail to understand why Netanyahu presented the discussion on the staff mandate to the expanded cabinet, where he knows there is strong opposition to flexibility. "You cannot approve every step in the negotiations with them, otherwise what is the meaning of the war cabinet?" said a senior security official.
All five ministers of the War Management Cabinet, including Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who are close to Netanyahu, believed that it was necessary to proceed to direct negotiations in Qatar. The basis is a basis that can be talked about, and it is necessary to send a delegation to Qatar immediately. However, Netanyahu deliberately "dragged his feet" from Friday to Monday. "This dragging does not guarantee good things," said security officials.
Israel also fears that the tensions between Israel and the US will affect the negotiations for a deal, and that there will be massive American pressure on Israel to accept the outline and not create difficulties.
The Israeli delegation will leave for Qatar after Israeli officials said that "there is no escape from this", this despite the fact that Netanyahu was careful to define Hamas's answer to the possible deal as "absurd", and even though cabinet ministers, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, called on him during the weekend to prevent the departure of Delegation to Doha.
The assessment of cabinet ministers before last night's discussions was that Netanyahu would not sabotage a deal if there was something "real", although he does not seem particularly enthusiastic and the impression is that he is trying to delay and postpone the difficult decisions. Professional sources, however, estimated that in his actions Netanyahu is doing everything to avoid reaching a deal.
In recent days, sources familiar with the negotiations have conveyed a message to Netanyahu that the early departure of the negotiating delegation to Qatar is significant, and that despite Hamas' answer there is a basis for negotiations. They said, even before last night's debate, that it is impossible to confirm with the expanded cabinet the keys to the negotiations and every step in the talks - otherwise, what is the meaning of the war cabinet.
Yesterday, Defense Minister Yoav Galant implicitly addressed the allegations against Netanyahu, "Just as we acted throughout the war, the security establishment under my leadership, in all its parts, is committed to exhausting every possibility and is ready to take advantage of every opportunity, including the current one, to return the kidnapped to their families," Minister Galant said at the memorial ceremony For the martyrs of Israel's systems whose burial place is not known on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.
Families of abductees demonstrated last night near the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, during the meeting of the war cabinet there. During the protest, ministers in the political-security cabinet arrived at the scene, ahead of the discussion in the broad forum, and a commotion was recorded around Gideon Sa'ar's car, when the family members tried to block his path - but he managed to pass.
According to the release key that Hamas handed over to the mediators last Thursday, for every female soldier released from captivity, 50 prisoners will be released, of which 30 are considered "heavy". That is, the terrorist organization demands the release of 250 prisoners in exchange, of which 150 are "heavy" - that Hamas will take action on their behalf. Of the 150 prisoners, 100 were sentenced to life imprisonment and the remaining 50 were given long prison sentences.
In total, Hamas is asking for the release of about 800 terrorists in exchange for 40 Israeli hostages who are alive.