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It hasn't changed much
One of the Arab officials said that the three-phased hostage deal currently being finalized between Israel and Hamas is largely the same as the proposal that was proposed by Israel last May.
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“A deal could have been reached much earlier, but both sides led to talks falling apart at various times,” the Arab official said.
The official rejected repeated assertions from the US that Hamas has been the only obstacle to a ceasefire, arguing that Israel has also thwarted talks over the past several months. The Arab official said Netanyahu walked away from the phased proposal he authorized in May, trying to instead prioritize the first phase of that offer so that Israel could resume fighting in Gaza immediately afterward.
Now both parties have agreed to once again get behind the phased framework and are doing so simultaneously — arguably for the first time, the Arab official said.
While the deal has three stages, the terms of the second phase will not be negotiated until the first phase is underway.
