Israel's Condition for Its Forces in Gaza Has 'Blocked' Ceasefire Agreement

As the heads of the CIA and Mossad are in Cairo to resume negotiations with Egyptian and Qatari officials for a ceasefire in the Gaza war, the U.S. ambassador to the UN stated that such an agreement is 'on the horizon' and Hamas must be pressured to accept the proposed intermediary offer. In contrast, Reuters reported on Friday, September 2, citing 'ten sources familiar with the recent Doha negotiations,' that Israel's request to continue deploying its forces in Gaza is preventing an agreement, and the positions of the extremist group Hamas regarding Palestinian security prisoners are blocking the path to a deal. The Israeli Prime Minister's Office announced ahead of potential negotiations in Cairo that the country's position emphasizes continued control over the area known as the Philadelphi Corridor by Israel. The Biden administration presented an 'intermediary proposal' during the Doha negotiations on August 16 and 17, hoping to bridge the gaps caused by the differing positions of Israel and the extremist group Hamas to make an agreement possible. The U.S. sent William Burns, the CIA director, to Cairo for the continuation of negotiations, which is reportedly set to be hosted by Abbas Kamel, the head of Egypt's intelligence and security agency, with the participation of the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar. According to Reuters, the Qatari Prime Minister will visit Iran for discussions with Islamic Republic officials before participating in the negotiations. The White House announced Biden and Harris's negotiations with Netanyahu regarding the ceasefire in Gaza. Israeli media also reported that David Barnea, the head of Mossad, has been in Cairo since September 1 at the head of a team of security officials, including Ronen Bar, the head of the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service. Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the EU, boycotted the Doha negotiations with the motivation that previously accepted proposals should be the basis for work, but it is unclear whether it will participate in the potential Cairo negotiations. 'Strong messages must be sent to other actors in the region so that they do not divert us from the agreement,' Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, said on Thursday, September 1, at a Security Council meeting, stating that the intermediary proposal presented by the U.S., Qatar, and Egypt to bridge the differences between the parties aligns with a plan that Joe Biden presented earlier this spring and which the Security Council approved in early summer. Ms. Thomas-Greenfield reiterated the words of Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, who said during his trip to Jerusalem this week that Israel accepted the intermediary proposal, although the Israeli government has not confirmed this. The U.S. ambassador added: 'Now it is Hamas's turn to accept it, and Security Council members must unanimously use leverage on Hamas to accept this proposal.' The continuation of the war in Gaza over the past month, following the killing of the head of Hamas's political office in Tehran and the targeted assassination of a senior military commander of Hezbollah in Beirut, has put the entire Middle East at risk and raised concerns among major powers about escalating tensions in the region. 'Will the U.S. intermediary proposal save the Gaza ceasefire negotiations?' Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said on Thursday at the Security Council that there is a real danger of escalating tensions in the region and that we must use everything we can to bring this ceasefire and the agreement for the release of hostages (Israeli citizens kidnapped by Hamas in Gaza) to a conclusion. The U.S. ambassador stated that this is a decisive moment in the ceasefire negotiations and for the region, and every council member should continue to send strong messages to other actors in the region to refrain from taking actions that would divert us from finalizing the agreement. Her reference was to Iran and Hezbollah, who have promised retaliation for the deaths of Haniyeh and the senior Hezbollah commander. Reuters reported on Friday, citing 'ten informed sources' from the recent Doha negotiations, including three Western diplomats and two members of the extremist group Hamas, that disagreements over Israel's future military presence in Gaza and the release of Palestinian security prisoners from Israeli jails have been the main issues preventing an agreement in Doha. These informed sources told Reuters that Hamas is particularly concerned about Israel's insistence on maintaining its forces along the Netzarim Corridor and the Philadelphi Corridor in Gaza. The Netzarim Corridor is a corridor that the Israeli army has cleared of Hamas forces during the war, preventing the free movement of Palestinians between northern and southern Gaza. The Philadelphi Corridor is also part of the Gaza border with Egypt within the Gaza Strip, which Israel insists Hamas has used to smuggle weapons and ammunition into Gaza during its 18 years of rule. The Israeli Prime Minister's Office stated on the evening of September 1 that a plan for the deployment of international forces in the Philadelphi Corridor has not been proposed, and Israel insists on the necessity of its control in this area. Mr. Netanyahu's office also denied reports from Israeli media on August 22 regarding 'Israel's agreement to withdraw its army from the Philadelphi Corridor,' stating that no such agreement exists and that Israel insists on 'achieving all the objectives set by the security cabinet, including that Gaza will never again be a security threat to Israel, which requires maintaining our control over the southern borders of Gaza.' Joe Biden explicitly told Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone conversation on Wednesday night that the ceasefire agreement and the release of hostages 'must be finalized.' The Israeli army this week found the bodies of six of its male hostages killed by Hamas inside a tunnel in Khan Younis and returned them to Israel. According to Israeli networks, Hamas members killed the hostages, including by shooting them in the head. They ranged from men aged 34 to an 81-year-old and also included a prominent Holocaust historian. 109 other Israeli hostages are still in Hamas's hands. It has been 322 days since the Gaza war began with the surprise attack by the extremist group Hamas on Israel on October 7 of last year. During this time, more than 40,000 people on the Palestinian side have been killed.