Ongoing ceasefire talks
Reports suggest that a deal between Hamas and Israel has never been closer. What has been discussed?
Here are key points provided to The Associated Press news agency by Egyptian and Hamas officials:
- The first phase of the truce would last from six to eight weeks. During that time, Hamas would release about 30 captives.
- Israel would release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
- Israel would allow a significant increase in aid deliveries to Gaza, and reopen the Rafah crossing with Egypt.
- Mediators say they are considering a return to a 2005 agreement that allowed the Palestinian Authority to operate the crossing along with European Union observers.
- During the first phase, Israeli troops would withdraw from some Palestinian population centres, allowing many Palestinians to begin returning home. But Israeli troops would not leave Gaza altogether at this stage. They would remain along the Philadelphi Corridor area along the Egyptian border.
- During the initial ceasefire, the sides would continue negotiations on a permanent agreement, to include an end to the war, the full withdrawal of Israeli troops, and the release of remaining captives and bodies held by Hamas.
Israel’s Smotrich calls potential Gaza ceasefire ‘serious error’
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called the potential ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas a “serious error”, according to Israeli media.
“Hamas is at its lowest point since the beginning of the war, and this is not the time to give it a lifeline,” Smotrich told the Haredi radio station Kol Barama, according to the Ynet News site.
The minister said without providing details that the deal would not serve the interests of Israel or return the captives “because in the end it’s a partial deal”. Yet, Smotrich did not threaten to pull out from the governing coalition should a deal be reached.
His comments come as efforts for an agreement have been renewed in the past weeks. In a key concession, Hamas officials say they are prepared to show more “flexibility” on the timing of an Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza, and Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said Monday that a deal is closer than ever.
Officials on all sides have cautioned that key details must still be worked out. But there is a general sense of optimism that has been lacking for many months.
Israeli institutions received $250m from EU despite outrage over Gaza war
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/18/eu-horizon-funding-israel
On October 7, as Israel began its latest war on Gaza following Hamas’s incursion into southern Israel, the European Union’s position was immediately clear.
“Israel has a right to defend itself – today and in the days to come,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted on X, alongside an image of her office’s headquarters lit up with Israel’s flag. “The European Union stands with Israel.”
Israel has since been placed on trial for genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague and its leaders – as well as a top Hamas commander – have been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Yet the EU continues to partner with Israeli institutions under its “Horizon” scheme, a programme that funds research and innovation.
Data collected by the European Commission and analysed by Al Jazeera shows that since October 7, the EU has awarded Israeli institutions more than 238 million euros ($250m), including 640,000 euros ($674,000) to Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), a top aerospace and aviation manufacturer supplying the Israeli army.
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