Qatar and Egypt Working on a New Plan for a Prisoner Exchange Deal

SadaNews Translation - Egypt and Qatar are working on drafting a new plan for an agreement that would result in the release of all Israeli detainees - both alive and dead - all at once, and ending the war on the Gaza Strip, so that the Israeli occupation army withdraws from it. This was stated by two Arab sources to the Associated Press today (Friday).

According to the report, the new proposal has the support and endorsement of major Gulf countries, which fear "regional instability" if Israel proceeds towards a complete occupation of the strip.

Reports indicated, according to SadaNews translation, that the framework is supposed to address, among other things, the issue of disarming Hamas - a step opposed by Hamas, but seen as one of Israel's demands to end the war, which was also approved by the Security Cabinet tonight.

 One Arab official involved directly in the efforts to draft the agreement stated that discussions are currently underway regarding the "freezing of Hamas's weapons." He added that Hamas would practically continue to possess weapons - but would not use them. The group would be asked to relinquish its control over the strip.

One of the sources involved in the discussions reported that the United States has been informed of the outlines of the framework agreement being drafted. The agreement also includes the establishment of an Arab-Palestinian committee to manage the Gaza Strip and oversee the reconstruction process until a "Palestinian government" is formed that includes a police force trained by U.S. allies in the Middle East. It is unclear whether this Palestinian government is also supposed to include the Palestinian Authority.

A senior Hamas official told the Associated Press that the organization's leadership is aware that mediators are trying to revive ceasefire talks, but they have not yet received the details.