Top US, Mideast envoys hold meetings on Gaza deal efforts and Syria’s future
Biden aides discuss hostage deal with Egypt’s Sissi, as Israel said to refuse to free terror convict Marwan Barghouti; Blinken says region wants inclusive government in Damascus
Top Middle Eastern and US diplomats held a series of meetings on Saturday focusing on efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza while also discussing the challenges of the post-Assad era in Syria.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi discussed the ceasefire efforts with visiting US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk, his office said.
The statement came as Hezbollah-affiliated newspaper Al-Akhbar quoted an unnamed Egyptian official as saying that Israel has objected to some of the names of Palestinian security prisoners Hamas seeks to release in exchange for hostages kidnapped on October 7, 2023, including popular Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti.
Barghouti is serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison for his part in planning three terror attacks that killed five Israelis during the Second Intifada.
“Israel has a vision of alternative lists of Palestinian prisoners, including people who were recently arrested, which could delay the drafting of the agreement,” the Egyptian source was quoted as saying.
The source added that Israel has requested that some of the Palestinian security prisoners be sent abroad instead of the West Bank or Gaza, “which may be accepted by the mediators as a compromise to end this new obstacle.”
On Friday night, Sullivan told Channel 12 news that regional developments, including the shock collapse of the Assad regime, the ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon and Israel’s killing of Hamas leaders, presented an opportunity for a deal to free the 100 captives held in Gaza.
Echoing Sullivan’s remarks on the possibility of reaching a deal, an unnamed senior Israeli official quoted by Channel 12 news concurred with the US assessment that it was possible to secure an agreement before the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Kan news reported Friday that Palestinian sources familiar with the negotiations had for the first time expressed cautious optimism regarding Hamas’s willingness to reach a deal. The sources credited the simultaneous pressure that has been placed on the terror group by Qatar, Egypt and Turkey.
Earlier this week, an Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel there have been indications that Israel and Hamas are willing to compromise regarding the terms of Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. However, the diplomat stressed that the main obstacle to the talks — whether the ceasefire will be permanent as demanded by Hamas, or temporary as demanded by Israel — remains unresolved.
It is believed that 96 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 38 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.
An inclusive government for Syria
Meanwhile, top diplomats from the United States, the Arab League, and Turkey met in Jordan to discuss how to assist Syria’s transition after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government a week ago.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken joined foreign ministers and senior officials from the European Union and United Nations in Jordan to try to find consensus on the matter, although no Syrian representatives were set to attend.
Blinken said a broad consensus exists among regional partners that Syria’s new government must be inclusive, must respect women and minority rights, reject terrorism and secure and destroy suspected Assad-era chemical weapons stockpiles.
Blinken is wrapping up a three-country regional tour in Aqaba after visiting Iraq, Turkey and Jordan.
Earlier Saturday, in a meeting with UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pederson, Blinken said he expected to talk about the challenges ahead for Syria and “our determination to work together to support a Syrian-led transition where the United Nations plays a critical role, particularly when it comes to the provision of assistance, to the protection of minorities.”
Pederson agreed, saying: “What is so critical in Syria is that we see a credible and inclusive political process that brings together all communities in Syria. And the second point is that we need to make sure that state institutions do not collapse, and that we get in humanitarian assistance as quickly as possible. And if we can achieve that, perhaps there is a new opportunity for the Syrian people.”
In a final statement after talks in the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba, foreign ministers from Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar said they had agreed to “support a peaceful transition process” in Syria, “in which all political and social forces are represented.”
Anti-Assad forces, led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), toppled the longtime ruler on December 8 following a lightning offensive.
HTS is rooted in al-Qaeda’s Syria branch and is designated as a terrorist organization by many Western governments, but has sought to moderate its rhetoric.
A transitional government installed by the rebel forces has insisted the rights of all Syrians will be protected, as will the rule of law.
The foreign ministers, meeting in Aqaba in the presence of Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said the political process in Syria should be supported by “the United Nations and the Arab League, in accordance with the principles of Security Council Resolution 2254” of 2015, which set out a roadmap for a negotiated settlement.
The Arab diplomats also declared their backing for a transitional rule agreed upon by Syrians, which would enable “a political system that corresponds to the aspirations of all parts of the Syrian people, through free and fair elections overseen by the United Nations.”
They also warned against “any ethnic, sectarian or religious discrimination” and called for “justice and equality for all citizens.”
In their statement, the ministers said state institutions must be preserved to stop Syria from “slipping into chaos,” also calling to boost joint “efforts to combat terrorism… as it poses a threat to Syria and to the security of the region and the world.”
They condemned “Israel’s incursion into the buffer zone with Syria,” demanding “the withdrawal of Israeli forces” from Syrian territory.
Israel has said it will not become involved in the conflict in Syria and that its seizure of the buffer zone established in 1974 was a defensive and temporary move.
The Arab foreign ministers also denounced Israeli airstrikes on Syria, which have massively targeted key military assets, including chemical weapons sites, missiles, air defenses, air force, and navy targets across the country in recent days.
Israel said it launched the major operation in a bid to prevent the strategic assets from falling into the hands of hostile elements.
