Israeli sources say progress will be made in talks in Paris, France, this weekend over the release of hostages by Hamas in exchange for a pause in fighting, as the Palestinian terror group appears to be backing away from demands for an end to the war. It was reported that there was.
The rough outline of the contract is as follows Involved Following a six-week cessation of fighting and the release of 35 to 40 hostages, Israel has released approximately 300 Palestinian terrorist prisoners and redeployed some troops into the Gaza Strip, although it has not withdrawn from the area.
Hamas still holds about 134 Israeli hostages, dozens of whom are believed to have died. A week-long ceasefire in November was broken by Hamas, leading to a resumption of fighting and the release of more than 100 hostages, mostly women and children.
Since then, Israel has destroyed much of what was left of Hamas, except for a few battalions concentrated in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, near the Egyptian border. Israel also successfully rescued two hostages in Rafah earlier this month.
Hamas has refused any further hostage deals unless Israel ends the war and withdraws from Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to consider ending the war and reiterated that Israel will not allow Hamas to survive the war, both militarily and politically.
Negotiators left Paris feeling optimistic and shifted their focus to Qatar, where Hamas’s billionaire leaders live a life of luxury in exile. Israel has set the deadline for concluding the hostage deal as March 10, the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. He is the author of the recent book, The Zionist Conspiracy (And How to Participate in It), now available on Audible. He is also the author of an e-book. Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 US Presidential Election. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
