Israel expected to present new Gaza withdrawal map in Doha talks

​​JERUSALEM/ANKARA

Israel is expected to present a new withdrawal map during ceasefire negotiations in Qatar, after talks stalled over Tel Aviv’s insistence on maintaining control of a large area along the Gaza Strip, media reports said Saturday.

Israel’s Channel 12 said mediators are waiting for the new map to be submitted by Israel.

Hamas had agreed to a buffer zone with a width of 0.7 to 1 kilometers (0.43 to 0.62 miles), but Israel’s last proposal reportedly sought to maintain occupation zones as wide as 3 kilometers (1.86 miles), which led to a stall in the talks.

While the red lines of Hamas and Israel reportedly do not align, the map is anticipated to attempt to bridge some of the gaps.

The Haaretz newspaper, citing an Arab diplomatic source, reported that mediator countries have not given up despite disagreements.

The source said they are attempting to balance Hamas, which rejected the previous Israeli map, with the Israeli government’s hawkish wing, which has shown resistance to a more realistic compromise.

The US is also said to be dissatisfied with the Israeli proposal and has relayed its concerns to the Qatari and Egyptian mediators.

Meanwhile, Israel’s state broadcaster KAN reported that sources close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expect far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to resign if a cease-fire deal is signed.

Netanyahu is reportedly planning to meet far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in an attempt to ease opposition within his Cabinet to a deal.

According to The Times of Israel, the rejected proposals showed that Israel sought to maintain control over roughly one-third of Gaza’s territory.

It included areas such as Rafah in the south, where Israel allegedly planned to establish a “humanitarian aid city” that could serve as a holding site for Palestinians intended to be deported to third countries.

Ceasefire talks in Gaza

US President Donald Trump previously announced that Israel accepted the necessary conditions for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, with the proposal presented to Hamas by Qatar and Egypt.

Hamas responded positively and stated its readiness to proceed with negotiations to implement the ceasefire deal and exchange hostages.

Although Israel claimed Hamas’ amendments to the Qatari proposal were unacceptable, its delegation still traveled to Doha for talks.

Negotiations in Doha have focused on a temporary 60-day ceasefire, the release of 10 living and 18 deceased Israeli hostages, and discussions on a permanent truce.

While many issues were reportedly resolved, the main sticking point remained Israel’s insistence on maintaining occupation around Gaza’s perimeter.

Even if a ceasefire is reached, Israel has announced plans to continue to have a presence in Rafah and set up a “collection camp” as part of its aim to deport Palestinians to other countries.

On July 11, Israelis who had seized Palestinian lands beat a Palestinian and fatally shot another in the town of Sinjil in northern Ramallah.

At least 998 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers in the occupied West Bank since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Israel has since killed nearly 58,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children.

The International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land illegal last July and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.