CIA chief William Burns, who visited Oslo when he was deputy foreign minister under President George W. Bush, will, according to sources, participate in negotiations for the release of the remaining hostages in the Gaza Strip. Photo: Cornelius Poppe / NTB
The head of the CIA is on the list of envoys to meet with officials from Israel, Egypt and Qatar, according to The Washington Post.
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President Joe Biden will in the coming days send intelligence chief William Burns to assist in the negotiations, officials with knowledge of the matter say to The Washington Post.
According to Reuters sources, the head of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad will also attend the meeting.
The hope is that Burns can bridge the gap between Hamas and Israel, with the aim of brokering an agreement between Israel and Hamas on the release of the remaining hostages and the longest ceasefire since the outbreak of war in October.
On Thursday evening, Reuters reports that Hamas is willing to release all Israeli hostages – if Israel releases all Palestinian prisoners
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The sources say the CIA chief is expected to travel to Europe to meet with the intelligence chiefs from Israel and Egypt – David Barnea and Abbas Kamel – as well as Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bil Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani.
The planned meeting has not been discussed previously.
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Egypt and Qatar have been important brokers between Israel and Hamas and helped secure a week-long ceasefire and prisoner and hostage exchange in November.
However, the relationship between Israel and Qatar has been put to the test after the leak of an audio recording in which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks disparagingly of Qatar to some of the hostages’ relatives.
Published:
Published: 25.01.24 at 18:35
Updated: 25.01.24 at 18:50
2024-01-25 17:35:26
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