Faisal Abbas 
Palestinians stand on the surfaces of devastating homes in Beit Lahia, March 15, 2025 (France Press)
The office of the Prime Minister of the Israeli occupation government, Benjamin Netanyahu, said that an Israeli delegation met, on Sunday evening, with Egyptian officials in Cairo to discuss the agreement related to Israeli detainees in Gaza.
This comes as the American envoy to the Middle East described Steve Whitkov today, Sunday, the Hamas movement responded to an American proposal to extend the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as “unacceptable”, despite the announcement of the movement, last Thursday, its approval of a proposal for the mediators to release an Israeli-American soldier and four bodies for double nationality, to resume negotiations of the second stage of the agreement that the Israeli occupation violated.
In an interview with the American “CNN” network, Witkeov said that Washington submitted a proposal to narrow the gaps to extend the first stage of the agreement between Israel and “Hamas”, and explained that the proposal would lead to the release of five neighborhood prisoners in Hamas, in exchange for the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons. And Wittouf added that he advises Hamas to “be more rational and to see what American strikes did with the Houthis.” He explained that this proposal would “provide time to negotiate a permanent ceasefire frame.”
On Saturday, the Netanyahu office said that the latter directed the negotiating team to prepare to resume the Gaza negotiations in accordance with the intermediaries’ response to the proposal of the American envoy Steve Whitkov, and the office stated, in a statement, that Netanyahu “this evening (Saturday) held an in -depth discussion on the issue of the kidnappers with the participation of ministers, negotiating staff and heads of the Security Corporation.”
The statement added: “At the conclusion of the talks, the Prime Minister directed the negotiating team to prepare to resume the talks in accordance with the intermediaries’ response to Wittouf with the immediate release of 11 and a half of the dead detainees, “and earlier yesterday, Saturday, Netanyahu began a session of the Israeli mini cabinet” cabinet “that includes ministers and heads of security services with the aim of crystallizing decisions regarding the next stage of the exchange deal.
Contrary to what was stated in the statement of Netanyahu’s office regarding a proposal to Witkeov, channel (12) and other Hebrew media indicated that the proposal includes the release of five neighborhood detainees, including the American-Israeli Alexander Alexander, and the bodies of ten dead, in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and the suspension of military operations for a period ranging between 42 and 50 days, during which the war is negotiated.
(Reuters, New Arab)
