The top Israeli negotiator reportedly resigned due to his frustration over the lack of progress in the ongoing ceasefire talks and swap deal between Israel and the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.
Senior Israeli negotiator Brigadier General Oren Setter resigned on Monday from the negotiating team, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority (KAN) reported.
The top negotiator, who served as deputy to Major-General Nitzan Alon, reportedly played a pivotal role in the current negotiations framework.
According to KAN, he resigned due to his frustration over the lack of progress in the ongoing ceasefire talks and swap deal between Israel and the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.
Setter’s resignation was reportedly communicated “within the last day” to the Israeli government, KAN’s report said.
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The report also cited analysts as suggesting that Setter’s resignation “underscores the persistent lack of meaningful advancement in the negotiations.”
Israel’s The Jerusalem Post said that the Israeli occupation army issued a statement on Setter’s resignation.
“Brig.-Gen. Oren Setter returned from retirement to serve with the negotiating team on October 7, advancing efforts to secure the hostages’ return. The officer will remain available to support the Hostage Command as needed,” the statement read as quoted by the Israeli newspaper.
Cairo’s Proposed Deal
Setter’s resignation came one day following the return of the Israeli negotiating team from Qatar to discuss an Egyptian-proposed ceasefire and swap deal.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi recently put on the table a new proposed deal entailing a two-day ceasefire in Gaza and the release of four Israeli captives held by the Palestinian resistance.
The new Egyptian plan was discussed along the multi-phase Qatari-American initiative, which aims at releasing all captives and achieving a permanent ceasefire deal in Gaza.
The office of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Mossad chief David Barnea has returned from a 24-hour visit to Qatar for that purpose, the Lebanese media network Al-Mayadeen reported.
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Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that Barnea and CIA Director Bill Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, reviewed in Doha what was labeled as “a unified proposal” that combines earlier approaches while considering “the main issues and recent developments in the region,” Al-Mayadeen said.
According to The Times of Israel, the “recent developments” mentioned in the statement likely refer to the assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza earlier this month.
“In the coming days, the discussions between the mediators and with Hamas will continue to examine the feasibility of talks and continue to try to promote a deal,” the statement read.
The negotiations had previously come to a halt due to Netanyahu’s resolve to remain in the Philadelphi Corridor.
Hamas Reiterate Demands
Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi reiterated in a statement to Al-Mayadeen the resistance movement’s stance on the ongoing negotiations and unwavering demands regarding a ceasefire and swap deal.
He emphasized that Hamas will agree to a ceasefire deal only if Israel withdraws from Gaza, and “humanitarian relief must be acknowledged before discussing the issue of captives.”
“We demand a comprehensive and clear deal, and we will not accept the fragmentation of the basic document,” the Hamas official said regarding the Egyptian proposed deal.
He went on to add that the resistance movement awaits concrete outputs from the discussions in Doha.
The Hamas official concluded by asserting that “If the enemy does not announce its approval of the proposal, we will not approve of it in advance,” according to the Lebanese media network.
Gaza Genocide Continues
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 43,020 Palestinians have been killed, and 101,110 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
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Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
(Al-Mayadeen, PC)
