Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to hold a meeting on Sunday evening regarding the ongoing negotiations for a hostage deal, sources told The Jerusalem Post.
A small group of ministers will participate, focusing on whether to approve the presentation of new maps in the Doha talks, which has been a point of contention in recent days.
Earlier on Saturday, Palestinian officials told the BBC that hostage-ceasefire negotiations are on the verge of collapse.
A Palestinian official claimed that Netanyahu had purposefully sent a delegation to Doha with no real decision-making authority on key points of contention in order to buy Israel time while he visited Washington.
Israel’s point of contention includes the deployment of IDF troops during the 60-day ceasefire period, The Post previously reported. Hamas claimed on Wednesday that on its side, there were several sticking points, including the flow of aid, withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, and “genuine guarantees’ for a permanent ceasefire, adding that the talks have been “tough” due to Israel’s “intransigence.”
Later on Saturday, Israel accepted the Qatari-proposed hostage deal, based on the Witkoff outline, while Hamas rejected it, a senior official in the Prime Minister’s Office told reporters. The official noted that negotiations in Doha regarding the hostage deal are ongoing, claiming that talks were also held during the Sabbath with the mediators, as well as Egypt and Qatar.
According to him, the Israeli team was sent to Doha based on the Qatari proposal, to which Israel agreed, and received the necessary mandate for the talks. “Hamas rejected the Qatari proposal, is creating obstacles, refuses to compromise, and accompanies the talks with psychological warfare aimed at sabotaging the negotiations,” the senior official in the Prime Minister’s Office claimed. / Jerusalem Post
