Al-Hayya Mourns Sinwar on Behalf of Hamas: Release of Prisoners Hinges on Withdrawal and Ceasefire / Hochstein Reveals U.S. and Israeli Alignment: Negotiations Under Fire to Amend Resolution 1701

 October 19, 2024

The political editor wrote

Yesterday witnessed a strong diplomatic presence, with the resurfacing of Israeli rhetoric linking the failure of negotiations to the leadership of Hamas, particularly the martyr Yahya Sinwar. Israel has framed reaching Sinwar and either assassinating him or removing him from the equation as a prerequisite for avenging the Al-Aqsa Flood operation. From their perspective, it is a necessary step toward reaching an agreement. This implies that Sinwar is seen as the primary obstacle to a resolution. Consequently, the question being circulated within the occupying entity, Washington, and Europe is whether Washington has decisively chosen to seize the moment, pressing Tel Aviv to halt its brutal and criminal war of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and expedite a peace agreement that ends the war and facilitates a prisoner exchange, as U.S. statements suggest. Or has Washington, instead, made up its mind to fully endorse this genocidal war and forced displacement, ultimately legitimising the annexation of Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem, thus cementing settlements and burying all discourse of a political solution and the two-state proposal?

Simultaneously, Hamas officially announced, through the movement’s leader in Gaza and representative in the negotiations, Khalil Al-Hayya, that they will follow the path of the martyr Sinwar and continue the resistance until the complete liberation of Palestinian land. As for negotiations, Al-Hayya stated that Israeli prisoners held by Hamas would not be released until the war is completely ended, the occupying forces withdraw from the entire Gaza Strip, and Palestinian prisoners gain their freedom.

In Lebanon, clashes on the border and across it continued, with the resistance forces repelling multiple attempts by the occupying army’s infantry and armoured divisions to advance, inflicting losses on them. Meanwhile, the occupying army’s airstrikes targeted numerous areas in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley. In retaliation, the resistance launched missiles and drones, striking Haifa, western Galilee, and upper Galilee, with Safed receiving a considerable share of the barrage. The statement issued yesterday by the Resistance Operations Room, announcing the transition to a new, qualitative phase, attracted the attention of diplomatic circles following the war, viewing it as a signal of the resistance’s recovery, its standing on firm ground, and its ability to seize the initiative in the conflict.

Politically, Lebanese officials, along with political and diplomatic circles, took note of the remarks made by U.S. presidential envoy Amos Hochstein, who called for amending Resolution 1701, reflecting a convergence of U.S. and Israeli interests to negotiate before a ceasefire. This was echoed by the occupying entity’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who referred to it as “negotiations under fire”. Meanwhile, the joint U.S.-French statement, supported by ten Western and Arab nations, emphasised the priority of an immediate ceasefire followed by negotiations on the mechanisms for implementing, rather than amending, Resolution 1701.