Washington proposes to release 900 prisoners, and Israel demands a “veto” on the names

The official "Kan" channel quoted a senior Israeli official as saying that Washington had proposed releasing 900 Palestinian prisoners, including 100 of the "big names", while demanding that Tel Aviv be able to reject some of the names of the prisoners.

The official Hebrew channel "Kan" said on Tuesday evening that Israel is demanding that it be granted a "veto" over the names of the Palestinian prisoners whose release Hamas will demand as part of a hoped-for deal.

The channel quoted an unnamed senior Israeli official as saying that the CIA proposed releasing 900 Palestinian prisoners, including 100 “heavy names” who are serving life sentences.

For months, Egypt and Qatar have been making mediation efforts in indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, to reach an agreement to exchange prisoners and stop the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza for 6 months.

Kan continued, "Israel is demanding that it have veto power over some terrorists," as she said, which means enabling Israel to refuse to release some of the names proposed by Hamas.

Israel also demands that it be able to deport the prisoners who will be released from the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, according to the channel, without mentioning a specific destination.

Israel detains at least 9,400 Palestinians in its prisons, including children and women, and estimates that about 134 Israeli prisoners are in Gaza, while Hamas announced that 70 of them were killed in random Israeli raids.

The channel reported, "Meanwhile, the expanded political and security ministerial council (cabinet) is meeting to discuss the deal to release the kidnapped people."

She added that during the meeting, "Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is expected to ask the American administration to announce that by the end of the six-week truce, Israel will be allowed to resume the war against Hamas, including Rafah."

Claiming that it is the "last stronghold of Hamas," Israel insists on invading Rafah, the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip on the border with Egypt, despite increasing international warnings of catastrophic repercussions in light of the presence of about 1.4 million displaced people there.

According to the channel, “Smotrich is also expected to ask Washington to announce that Gaza residents will not be allowed to cross freely from the south of the Strip to its north during the weeks of the truce.”

Hamas has repeatedly announced its commitment in the negotiations to ending the war, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, the return of the displaced to their areas, and the freedom to bring in humanitarian and relief aid, within a prisoner exchange agreement.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza, leaving more than 100,000 martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and massive destruction and famine that claimed the lives of children and the elderly, according to Palestinian and UN data.

Israel continues the war despite the issuance of an immediate ceasefire resolution by the Security Council, as well as despite its first appearance before the International Court of Justice on charges of committing "genocide."