The prime minister’s office said on Wednesday that Israel’s espionage chiefs will participate in negotiations in Doha on Thursday to seek a truce in Gaza and a settlement for the release of hostages following almost ten months of fighting.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved the departure of the Israeli delegation to Doha tomorrow, as well as the mandate for conducting the negotiations,” stated a statement.
The head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, David Barnea, and Shin Bet security service chief Ronen Bar are part of the team, Netanyahu’s spokesman Omer Dostri told AFP.
“The head of the Mossad, the head of the Shin Bet, Nitzan Alon and Ophir Falk” make up the team, Dostri said. Alon coordinates issues related to hostages, and Falk is a political adviser to Netanyahu.
Palestinian militant group Hamas has not said whether it would send negotiators to Doha.
A Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that “negotiations with the mediators are continuing and have even intensified in recent hours”.
“Hamas wants the Biden plan imposed and doesn’t want to negotiate just to negotiate,” the official said, referring a ceasefire proposal laid out in late May by US President Joe Biden.
“We have to force the (Israeli) occupation government to stop its policy, which consists of dragging out the negotiations, and force it to stop massacring our people.”
