Prisoner swap negotiations continued today with Israeli ministers reportedly finalizing deliberations and additional details on Hamas’ demands emerging. Notably, some reports indicate that Hamas no longer seeks the release of former Fatah official and beloved Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti who is currently held in Israeli prisons. If true, this development has far-ranging impact. Most notably, Barghouti would likely not participate in pending Palestinian elections, shifting a significant number of supporters to a still yet-to-be-determined candidate or candidates. Lacking a front-runner with the possibility of uniting both Fatah and Hamas supporters, the next step for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas remains to be seen- will he stand true to his threat to resign or rethink the process and remain in command.
According to a report in Israeli publication Ma’ariv, Israel notified the German mediator of its response to the Hamas demands. Under this backdrop, the chief Israeli negotiator reportedly intends on resigning, resulting in speculation that the Israeli government rejected the Hamas offer. This resignation marks the second negotiator stepping-down this year, with the first leaving over failures by the government to agree to a deal. The Prime Minister’s Office denied that a resignation is pending.
Regardless of the veracity of any of the speculation and reports, a final decision from the Israeli government should be issued in the near future. The announcement will place a well-needed cap on speculation with either a prisoner swap that will conclude a three-year long debate or result in backpedaling from the most substantive negotiations with Hamas to date.
Stay tuned.
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