A senior U.S. official said Hamas increased the number of Palestinian terrorists who committed murders, which the group now demands in exchange for the release of hostages.
" “Hamas has been putting some things on the table that have been complete nonstarters [regarding] the exchange, and they’re different than what was agreed months ago,” he said. “Until that is worked out, you’re not going to have a deal.”," the official told reporters in a briefing. An Israeli source confirmed that Hamas was making new demands regarding the release of convicted murderers.
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Joe Biden, Hamas tunnel, Benjamin Netanyahu
(צילום: Evelyn Hockstein / Reuters, IDF, Haim Goldberg )
The administration official said that 14 out of the 18 items in the outline of the agreement, were already agreed on. And of the remaining four, one paragraph is is a technical fix and the other three relate to the freeing of hostages and the release of Palestinian prisoners and are still being negotiated.
"Basically, 90% of this deal has been agreed, and it’s been agreed at terms that even Hamas had in [its own proposal],” he said. He did however appear skeptical that Hamas wanted to reach a deal.
The official said that the U.S. and the mediating countries will reveal a new bridging proposal in the coming days. He said the nature of negotiations has changed after the execution of the six Israeli hostages and a measure of urgency has now been added to them.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew said in a conference held by the Institute for National Security Studies (INNSS) that The U.S. is working hard to bring about part A of the deal which includes the release of hostages and a cease-fire. "We have to devote our 24/7 efforts for plan A," he said adding that that is how lives will be saved. "The negotiations have gotten into the most difficult issues, some of which are not the subject of most of the public discussion," he said.