Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington is a major focus this week as efforts continue to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza. In the latest updates, the newspaper "Haaretz" reported that "the political leadership in Israel believes Netanyahu is open to a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas, but he will refrain from announcing this during his speech this evening at the U.S. Congress." It noted that officials familiar with the negotiations indicated that Netanyahu's announcement regarding the implementation of the deal is only tied to the suitable political timing for him.
The newspaper expected that Netanyahu would emphasize the threats facing Israel by focusing on Iran in his address to Congress. During the meeting, Netanyahu assured attendees that progress had been made in negotiating the exchange of the remaining 120 prisoners as part of a ceasefire agreement, but he defended the delay in order to achieve better terms. According to statements from the meeting, Netanyahu said that the exchange process would not happen in one go and expressed regret over this announcement, according to the "Times of Israel."
He added, "I am not willing to concede victory over Hamas under any circumstances. If we concede, we will be at risk from the entire Iranian axis of evil." Additionally, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported significant tension during the meeting in Washington between Netanyahu and the families of the prisoners. According to the authority, "Netanyahu informed the families of the prisoners that his policy is to increase pressure and not yield to Hamas's terms," while encouraging some families to finalize the agreement as soon as possible.
The authority also pointed out that "Netanyahu informed intermediaries that remaining in the Philadelphia axis pressured Hamas to implement the second stage." However, the "Jerusalem Post" revealed that "an Israeli delegation will inform Egyptian officials of the approval to withdraw Israeli forces from the Rafah crossing and the Philadelphia axis." Israel informed Egypt on Tuesday that a security delegation would arrive in Cairo today to discuss several points in the negotiations regarding the exchange deal with the Egyptians, according to local Egyptian media.
The Israeli newspaper cited Egyptian media reports stating that Israel announced to Cairo that it had "agreed to the terms related to the Philadelphia axis and the Rafah crossing." Reports indicated that an Egyptian security delegation would head to Doha on Thursday to participate in meetings aimed at reaching an agreement and a temporary ceasefire for six weeks. Furthermore, prisoner families attacked comments made by Netanyahu's adviser Ofer Halevy, who claimed that "Hamas" does not want a deal. They stated in a statement: "Halevy's remarks contradict the position of the security services and the statements of the Minister of Defense, and are an attempt to undermine military achievements and a political desire to thwart the deal." They added, "Halevy's words, as a member of the negotiating team, mean that his role is to sabotage the chances of recovering the prisoners."
