The leaders of the Israeli delegation to the ceasefire and hostage release talks in Qatar have returned to Israel while the other members of the delegation remained in Doha.
The prevailing assessment in Israel is that Hamas will respond within 48 hours to the proposals that were put on the table in the most recent round of talks.
Muhammad Nazzal, a senior Hamas official, said last night that Hamas has already given its response and the ball is now in the Israelis’ court. Other senior Hamas officials accused Israel of presenting unyielding positions at the talks with the goal of derailing the negotiations.
KAN’s Mark Weiss spoke with Gershon Baskin, a political activist and a researcher of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, who was involved in previous negotiations with the Palestinians, including the negotiations that led to the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit in 2011.
