Israel to Condition Return of Palestinians to Northern Gaza on Prisoner Exchange Deal: Axios News

“Axios”: Israel is contingent on the return of the Palestinians to northern Gaza on concluding a prisoner exchange deal

On Tuesday, the Axios news website quoted Israeli officials as saying that senior officials in Israel will inform visiting US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that the Palestinians will not be able to return to northern Gaza without a new prisoner exchange deal.

Blinken arrived in Israel late on Monday night, on a new visit to the region, through which he hopes to contribute to stopping the war that has been going on in the Gaza Strip for more than three months, according to what the Arab World News Agency reported.

More than 23,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the current war on October 7, while the number of wounded reached about 57,000.

The American news site quoted Israeli officials as rejecting the return of the Palestinians to northern Gaza without a new prisoner exchange deal with the Hamas movement, which, along with other Palestinian factions, is holding more than 100 people who were taken from the areas surrounding Gaza, which were invaded by the movement’s fighters on October 7.

The website stated that achieving progress towards the return of Palestinians to their areas and ensuring that they are not forcibly displaced from Gaza is one of the goals of Blinken’s talks in Israel.

A senior Israeli official was quoted as saying that Israel and the United States realize that the return of the Palestinians to the north will not be achieved in the foreseeable future in light of the continuing fighting in some areas.

But Axios expected that Israeli officials would inform Blinken of their readiness to begin the planning process with the United States and the United Nations for the return of the Palestinians to their areas in the future.

An Israeli official was quoted as saying, “We will not let the Palestinians return to their homes in northern Gaza if there is no progress regarding the release of detainees.”

The Israeli official said, “We believe that we will know within a few weeks about the possibility of reaching a new deal to release the detainees.”

#Hezbollah #leader #killed #Israeli #strike
2024-01-08 23:58:00