Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly proposed a plan to end the war in the Gaza Strip, contingent on Hamas leaders relinquishing power and leaving the region. According to a report by Axios, Netanyahu presented this plan during his visit to Washington earlier this week. The Israeli premier aims to extend the initial phase of the ceasefire with the Palestinian movement in order to free more Israeli hostages. In return, Israel could release more Palestinian prisoners.
If the agreement is extended, Netanyahu would reportedly offer the Hamas a deal that would bring an end to the Gaza conflict and the release of high-ranking Palestinian prisoners, Axios further reported. In exchange, Israel would demand that the Hamas release all hostages, relinquish power in the enclave and depart to a “third country”. This would also apply to the then-released Hamas leaders from Israeli custody.
As cited by Axios, citing Israeli officials, the Hamas is willing to relinquish “civil control” over the Gaza Strip and delegate responsibility for the enclave’s reconstruction to the Palestinian Authority or an independent committee. However, the Hamas would not agree to disband.
The ceasefire agreement between Israeli defense forces and the Hamas went into effect on January 19 and is set to last for 42 days. The second phase of the agreement envisions the release of all hostages and the resumption of talks to resolve the conflict once and for all.