Live Update arrow right icon From the Liveblog of Sunday, March 17, 2024

French paper: Former MK Azmi Bishara ‘strongly influenced’ Paris outline

By ToI Staff 17 March 2024, 5:56 pm Edit
File - Former Balad MK Azmi Bishara talks to reporters at a press conference in Cairo, 22 April 2007, after he resigned at the Israeli embassy in Cairo and told Al-Jazeera satellite channel he would not return to Israel where he is under investigation. (Khaled Desouki/AFP)
File - Former Balad MK Azmi Bishara talks to reporters at a press conference in Cairo, 22 April 2007, after he resigned at the Israeli embassy in Cairo and told Al-Jazeera satellite channel he would not return to Israel where he is under investigation. (Khaled Desouki/AFP)

French daily Le Figaro reports that former Balad MK Azmi Bishara played a role in talks between the US, Qatar, Israel and Hamas in Paris in February to build an outline for a potential hostage deal with Hamas.

A source quoted by the French paper says Bishara “strongly influenced the drafting” of the outline, which would see a temporary pause in fighting in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas since October 7 in exchange for the release of Palestinian security prisoners and provisions for the entry of humanitarian aid to the Strip.

The report adds that Bishara serves as an adviser to Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Once a Knesset black sheep over his pro-Palestinian stance, Bishara left Israel in 2007, accused of spying for Hezbollah, a charge he denied. He is now a major personality in Qatari media and has a following of more than 1.7 million on social media platform X.

The Paris proposal is still in the midst of negotiations, with Israel expected to send a delegation to Qatar tomorrow.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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