Israeli negotiators are considering releasing 15 high-profile Palestinians imprisoned on terror charges in exchange for five female soldiers being held in Gaza, officials said – as President Biden predicted a cease-fire deal would be accepted and enacted by next Monday.
Despite previous refusals to release prisoners convicted of serious terrorism charges, the Jewish State has allegedly made a U-turn and agreed to a US proposal to free three such Palestinians for every one female IDF soldier, two officials with knowledge on the talks told the New York Times.
The concession is part of a broader deal being discussed with US, Egyptian and Qatari negotiators that would see 40 additional hostages freed from Gaza.
Along with the female soldiers, the exchange would see 35 civilians freed, including minors, women, the elderly and those who are sick or injured. Each civilian would be freed for every three Palestinians released for Israeli prisons, the same ratio as the first hostage exchange in November.
While Hamas has yet to announce its response to the proposal, Qatari officials said Tuesday that they are “upbeat and optimistic on Gaza mediation talks.”
The comment from Qatar came after Biden touted that the cease-fire deal was close to being accepted and would hopefully take effect next week.
“We’re close, we’re close” he told reporters in New York on Monday. “We’re not done yet. My hope is by next Monday, we’ll have a cease-fire.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has yet to respond to Biden’s comment.
Netanyahu has repeatedly claimed that military pressure would be the best way to secure the freedom of the estimated 134 hostages being held in Gaza. He’s previously rejected the idea of releasing prisoners with serious terrorism convictions in exchange for the hostages.
Negotiators are pushing for a cease-fire deal to be accepted soon as fears grow over Israel’s expected ground incursion into Rafah, now the most populous city in Gaza harboring more than 1.4 million refugees stuck between the battlefield and the Egyptian border.
While the IDF has proposed evacuating the civilian population to an area north of the city, officials have yet to provide any specifics on how that would be accomplished, with the US and global leaders warning Israel not to move into Rafah until a solid plan is drawn up.
While Israeli officials warned that a Rafah offensive would begin during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan next month if the hostages are not freed, Netanyahu said the advancement would be delayed if Hamas agrees to release the hostages.
Whether or not the hostages are freed, the prime minister has reiterated that the cease-fire will only be temporary and that the war will end only when Hamas is destroyed.
Israeli officials have said that four of the six remaining Hamas battalions are operating in Rafah.