Israel has given its consent to general provisions of a deal with Palestine's Hamas movement, drafted during the recent negotiations in Paris, Qatari Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said.
"The meeting in Paris succeeded in consolidating their proposals on the table into one proposal. That proposal has been approved by the Israeli side and now we have an initial positive confirmation from the Hamas which also ordered framework," he told a seminar at the Johns Hopkins Foreign Policy Institute.
According to the diplomat, the proposals shaped by the mediators "will represent a general understanding of how the next parts of the coming humanitarian parts would look like."
He also emphasized that at this point, the parties to the conflict have been discussing via mediators the concept of the deal, but its details are yet to be coordinated.
"It does not include a lot of the details that still need to be discussed. But we are optimistic that we have now where it has eluded us for about two months now and you get to a point where both sides agree on the principles of how the policy is going to apply. They still a very tough road in front of us," al-Ansari said.
Ismail Haniyeh, the current chairman of Hamas's political bureau said that the movement "has received the proposal developed during the discussions in Paris and is currently studying it." At the same time, Haniyeh pointed out that the priority for Hamas in formulating a response to the Paris agreement remains "an immediate cessation of aggression" and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip. According to him, the movement is ready to consider only those initiatives that can ensure the fulfillment of these conditions.
CNN reported on January 29, citing a source, that talks in Paris involving Egypt, Israel, Qatar and the United States had produced a preliminary proposal for the release of the hostages. The first stage calls for a six-week pause in hostilities. During this period, each Hamas-held civilian would be exchanged for three Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. This ratio could be increased for the exchange of Israeli soldiers. The six-week truce could be followed by a longer pause, the TV channel said.
