Israeli officials: US knew about changes to ceasefire deal - but didn't brief Israel
Title : Israeli officials: US knew about changes to ceasefire deal - but didn't brief Israel
Link : Israeli officials: US knew about changes to ceasefire deal - but didn't brief Israel
Ravid quoted a senior US official as denying the reports, claiming, "American diplomats have been engaged with Israeli counterparts. There have been no surprises." He also described the process as "extremely difficult."
According to the official, the US believes that Israel has been negotiating in good faith, and that the April offer was "the most forward leaning proposal to date. To secure a ceasefire, Hamas simply needs to release hostages. It's all mapped out."
The Biden administration also sees Hamas' "agreement" to the ceasefire as a counteroffer, not a new proposal, he added.
According to Ravid, "The episode has created deep disappointment and suspicion among senior Israeli officials regarding the US role in the hostage deal talks and could negatively influence the negotiations going forward."
A report corroborated by the New York Times said that CIA director William Burns was a party to the offer proposed by Egypt and Qatar, but not approved by Israel. It was this offer which Hamas eventually accepted.
Axios reported that, "The CIA declined to comment."
Meanwhile, three Israeli officials have confirmed that Hamas' announcement surprised the Israeli government, and that Israel did not receive the text of the response from the mediators until an hour after Hamas issued its official statement.
The officials also told Ravid: "When the Israelis read Hamas' response, they were surprised to see it contained 'many new elements' that were not part of the previous proposal that Israel agreed on and that was presented to Hamas by the US, Egypt and Qatar ten days ago." One of the officials added that "it looked like a whole new proposal."
Two senior Israeli officials confirmed that Egypt gave the Hamas delegation "a new proposal without coordinating with Israel," when the delegation was in Cairo over the weekend.
The US invited Israel to the Cairo talks, but Israel declined to send a delegation - a decision which both Israeli and US officials confirmed as justified due to the fact that Israel had already said its part, and was waiting to hear Hamas' response to the existing proposal. At the same time, one Israeli official said that the decision not to send a delegation cost Israel visibility into the talks.
Two Israeli officials told Ravid that "the feeling is that 'Israel got played' by the US and the mediators who drafted 'a new deal' and weren't transparent about it."
The officials also said that Israel suspects that the Biden administration offered Hamas guarantees that Israel would end the war as part of the hostage deal.
The Israeli officials said that the last changes to Hamas' counteroffer were made Monday morning, and the Biden administration knew about the changes. They also said that the Biden administration believes Hamas' response to be negotiable, though "Israeli leaders have their doubts."
"We think the Americans conveyed the message to Hamas that it will be okay when it comes to ending the war," one senior Israeli official said.
The US official confirmed that the Biden administration aims to create something "more enduring" from the ceasefire-prisoner swap deal, but claimed that the US did not provide Hamas with any guarantees about ending the war.
Israeli officials: US knew about changes to ceasefire deal - but didn't brief Israel
Israeli officials: US knew about changes to ceasefire deal - but didn't brief Israel
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