New Arab initiative for peace?

2023-12-26 21:45:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Photo by AFP

Egypt probably has a plan with several stages to end the war in the Gaza Strip, some Arab media reported. According to Saudi television, Ashark, the first phase is to achieve a cessation of hostilities for at least two weeks. At this stage, the 40 hostages held by Hamas will have to be released. And Israel must release 120 Palestinian prisoners. This reporting refers to "informed sources" that are not mentioned further.

Israeli bombing of Khan Yunis, view of December 12, 2023

In the second phase, it is about a Palestinian national dialogue under the patronage of Egypt. This passage refers to the rivalry between the two largest organized Palestinian groups, President Mahmoud Abaz's Fatah and the Islamist Hamas, which is categorized as a terrorist organization by Israel, the US, the EU, Germany and some Arab countries.

The third phase envisages a full ceasefire and an expanded agreement on the exchange of hostages and prisoners. Ultimately, this plan, according to reported data, foresees the complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip. So far there are no official announcements about these plans. It is known that the head of the Islamist Hamas, Ismail Hanija, was previously with a delegation in Egypt for talks. Egypt sees itself as a mediator in this conflict.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army has found the corpses of five hostages in a network of tunnels in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. The army announced that the bodies of three soldiers and two civilians who were abducted by Hamas on October 7 have been found in a very wide and deep tunnel system in the Jabaliya refugee area.

Battles in Khan Yunis

Meanwhile, the Israeli army continues fighting in the Gaza Strip without stopping, concentrating on the south of the strip. According to the data, the main fighting is focused on "another stronghold of Hamas, Khan Yunis", a spokesman for the Israeli army, Jonathan Conricus, told Fox News television. In a meeting of the Israeli government cabinet, Prime Minister Netanyahu said that "the war will be long". He admitted that the war requires "a very high price". But Israel will continue "with all its might, until the end, until victory, until we achieve all our goals," Netanyahu said. The Israeli army previously announced that 14 more soldiers had been killed in the Gaza Strip since Friday alone.

New Arab initiative for peace?

Meanwhile, the Israeli Prime Minister, Netanyahu rejected the reports, according to which Israel, under US pressure, has given up on expanding the war in Lebanon. "I have seen untrue publications that claim that the US has hindered us and is hindering us in our missions in the region," Netanyahu said. "This is not true. Israel is a sovereign state." The "Wall Street Journal" had reported that Biden had convinced Netanyahu not to attack Hezbollah militias in Lebanon. Meanwhile, in an announcement from the White House, Biden in the phone call with Netanyahu had talked about the "goals and phases" of the Israeli military action. Biden had emphasized the "critical need" to protect the civilian population and humanitarian aid supporters and that it is important to allow civilians to leave war zones./ DW