Israel will take part in negotiations this weekend in Paris with the U.S., Qatar and Egypt on a potential deal for a ceasefire and release of hostages in Gaza, according to a source briefed on the matter and Israeli media.
CIA Director William Burns, Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel will participate in the Paris meeting © Mena Today
Israel will take part in negotiations this weekend in Paris with the U.S., Qatar and Egypt on a potential deal for a ceasefire and release of hostages in Gaza, according to a source briefed on the matter and Israeli media.
The last talks on a ceasefire failed two weeks ago, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected as "delusional" a Hamas proposal for a 4-1/2 month truce that would end with an Israeli withdrawal.
But the head of Palestinian militant group Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, has been in Egypt this week, in the strongest sign in weeks that negotiations remain alive.
Israel's Channel 12 television reported that the war cabinet had approved sending negotiators, led by the head of Mossad intelligence service David Barnea, to Paris on Friday for talks on a potential deal to free more than 100 hostages kidnapped from Israel in October whom Hamas is still believed to be holding.
CIA Director William Burns, Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel will also participate in the Paris meetings, the source said on Thursday.
Earlier on Thursday, Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the country's hostage negotiators were being given expanded authority.
The urgency of diplomatic efforts appeared to be increasing ahead of the month-long Islamic holiday of Ramadan, which begins on March 10.
"We're focused intensely on trying to get an agreement that results in the release of the remaining hostages and that produces an extended humanitarian ceasefire", U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Brazil.
U.S. Middle East envoy Brett McGurk held "constructive" meetings in Egypt and Israel including with Netanyahu on Thursday, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said at a briefing.
Blinken said he, Burns and McGurk were "in constant communication and working every aspect of this."
Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas official, told Reuters that Israel was responsible for the lack of progress and was backtracking on terms it accepted weeks ago in the prior ceasefire proposal. "The (Israeli) occupation is not interested in achieving any agreement," he said.
There was no immediate response from Israeli officials. Netanyahu has said that if Hamas were to show flexibility progress would be possible.
By IbraheemAbu Mustafa, Dan Williams and Jonathan Landay
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Leaders from Islamist group Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement discussed plans for cooperation after the war in Gaza in a new round of talks in Cairo on Wednesday, a Hamas official told Reuters.
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