After the level of optimism rose about the nearness of reaching an agreement on prisoners between Israel and the Hamas movement following the announcement that an Israeli delegation would head to Qatar in the coming days to negotiate, the Israeli Prime Minister apparently set a new clause.

"Those with high judgments"

New media reports revealed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested the direct deportation of Palestinian prisoners whom he called “those with high sentences” if a deal was agreed upon with Hamas, in apparent reference to prisoners whose release Hamas demands. Kamrwan Barghouti, a leader in the Fatah movement, who is serving a life sentence for murder, after leading the second intifada, and whose release Israel confirmed was a “red line.”

Reports added on Sunday evening that Netanyahu’s request has not yet been discussed with the mediators in the negotiations aimed at reaching an agreement on the potential deal with the participation of Qatar, Egypt and the United States, according to the Jerusalem Post newspaper.

The new report also did not mention any other details about the Israeli demands, but it came after Netanyahu confirmed that any agreement would not stop the military operation in Rafah that has been expected for days and which Israel insists on despite all international warnings.

A senior Israeli security official revealed some details about a new proposal placed on the negotiating table regarding Gaza, indicating that it includes stopping the fighting for one day, in exchange for every Israeli detainee in Gaza who is released.

He also pointed out that the ceasefire may extend for about six weeks, as 40 people are expected to be released, according to what the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported on Sunday morning.

Also, ten Palestinian prisoners will be released for every Israeli prisoner released by the Palestinian factions.

The agreement includes Israel’s approval for the return of the displaced from the southern Gaza Strip to their homes in the north, as well as the reconstruction of the Strip.

An upcoming agreement

It is noteworthy that leaks, quoting a senior Israeli official, reported on Saturday evening that “Hamas has abandoned some of its demands.”

But she stressed at the same time that “the two sides are still far from reaching an agreement.”

The last deal concluded between Israel and Hamas was late last November, which led to the release of about 100 Israelis who were detained by the factions in the Gaza Strip on the seventh of last October, during the attack they launched on Israeli settlements and military bases in the Gaza Strip, when they captured about 250. people, while about 130 are still detained in Gaza, and 30 of them are believed to have died, according to official Israeli estimates.