A well-informed source disclosed to Sky News Arabia on Monday evening that Egyptian and Qatari mediators, with Turkish involvement, are preparing a new initiative aimed at presenting a viable proposal to the leadership of Hamas. The initiative seeks to present an alternative to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s intention to occupy Gaza City.
According to the source, Khalil al-Hayya, head of Hamas’s political bureau in Gaza, is expected to arrive in Cairo Monday night to meet with Egyptian officials as part of intensified regional efforts to revive the path toward ending the genocide.
If Hamas approves the proposal, it will be relayed to the American mediator before being formally presented to the Israeli side.
The initiative outlines a comprehensive prisoner exchange deal involving the release of all living Israeli captives and the return of the remains of deceased Israeli soldiers, in exchange for the release of unspecified number of Palestinian detainees.
It also includes Hamas’s conditional acceptance of a revised Israeli military deployment map, to be overseen by Arab and American parties, pending a broader resolution on the future of Hamas’s governance and its military capabilities.
Under the proposed framework, a transitional phase would begin in which Hamas would suspend the activities of its armed wing and prohibit the use of weapons. This phase would be guaranteed by the mediators and Turkey, while negotiations proceed toward a permanent ceasefire agreement.
Talks remain stalled at present, with mediators warning that failure to renew dialogue could trigger a dangerous deterioration in Gaza’s already fragile situation.
Last Friday, Israel’s “security cabinet” approved plans for large-scale military offensives to assert control over Gaza, a move that has sparked widespread international condemnation.
For decades, Israel has persistently rejected the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state and refused to end its occupation of Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem.
This position defies a broad international consensus and violates a series of United Nations resolutions, binding treaties, and humanitarian conventions designed to uphold the rights of occupied populations and promote a just resolution to the conflict.
Israeli leadership, particularly under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has repeatedly dismissed the two-state solution, framing Palestinian statehood as a “threat to national security.”
Netanyahu has publicly declared that Israel will retain control over all land west of the Jordan River, characterizing any recognition of Palestinian sovereignty as a “concession to terrorism.”
This stance has drawn sharp criticism from global leaders, including UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who described Israel’s rejection of Palestinian statehood as a dangerous impediment to peace and a catalyst for further instability.
Furthermore, prominent figures within Israel’s far-right leadership have begun openly advocating for the reoccupation of the Gaza Strip and the establishment of Israeli colonies within its borders.
Such proposals, if enacted, would constitute another serious breach of international law and further exacerbate the already dire humanitarian conditions endured by Palestinians in the enclave.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, widely recognized for his hardline positions, recently voiced support for placing substantial portions of Gaza under Israeli authority.
In a televised interview, he argued that “the expansion of Israeli “settlements in Gaza is essential for securing long-term national safety.”
He dismissed the government’s current incremental military approach as inadequate, urging instead a rapid and full-scale occupation coupled with the reinstatement of settlement infrastructure.
His statements reflect growing discord within the ruling coalition, with members of his party threatening to trigger early elections unless Prime Minister Netanyahu embraces a more forceful military doctrine.
This renewed push for colonization aligns with recent decisions by Israel’s security cabinet, which has endorsed a military strategy aimed at capturing Gaza City.
The plan reportedly involves relocating civilians to the southern part of the Strip, surrounding urban areas, and intensifying ground operations in densely populated zones.
While Netanyahu has framed the campaign as a mission to dismantle Hamas’s control, critics contend that the underlying objective is territorial consolidation and demographic manipulation.
Global reaction to these developments has been swift and critical. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, condemned the proposed offensive, warning that it would inflict intolerable suffering on the civilian population.
He emphasized that such actions directly violate the International Court of Justice’s recent ruling, which calls for an end to Israel’s occupation and affirms the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.
Several Western governments, including those of Germany, France, and Canada, have expressed alarm, with Berlin halting arms exports to Israel and others cautioning that the plan undermines peace efforts and breaches foundational principles of international law.
As Gaza faces an escalating humanitarian catastrophe, marked by widespread hunger, mass displacement, and the collapse of essential services, the push to reimpose colonialist structures signals a dangerous shift.
It moves beyond temporary military control toward permanent annexation, threatening to extinguish any remaining prospects for a negotiated peace and the realization of a sovereign Palestinian state.
While nearly 150 UN member states have formally recognized the State of Palestine, Israel continues to oppose such recognition, arguing that it legitimizes armed resistance and undermines its security interests.
This opposition persists despite mounting international pressure and repeated calls for a negotiated settlement that respects Palestinian rights and territorial integrity.
Israel’s continued illegal military occupation of all Palestinian territories, along with its colonialist expansion in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, violates several foundational principles of international law.
UN Security Council Resolution 242, adopted in the aftermath of the 1967 war, calls for Israel’s withdrawal from occupied territories.
More recently, Resolution 2334 reaffirmed the illegality of Israeli colonies, describing them as a flagrant breach of international law.
In 2024, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution demanding an end to Israel’s unlawful presence in Palestinian territory and calling for reparations for the harm caused by its policies.
The Fourth Geneva Convention, which governs the treatment of civilians under occupation, explicitly prohibits the transfer of the occupying power’s population into occupied lands.
Israeli colonies in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are therefore considered illegal under Article 49.
Additionally, Article 53 forbids the destruction of property unless justified by military necessity, a provision routinely violated through the demolition of Palestinian homes and infrastructure.
In a landmark advisory opinion issued in 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s ongoing presence in the occupied Palestinian territories unlawful.
The court called for an immediate halt to settlement activity and the evacuation of colonizers, reinforcing the legal consensus that Israel’s actions constitute a sustained breach of international norms.
On the ground, the consequences of these violations are stark. More than 700,000 Israeli colonizers now reside in the West Bank, including in and around occupied East Jerusalem, creating a fragmented landscape that obstructs the possibility of a contiguous Palestinian state.
In occupied East Jerusalem, Palestinians are frequently forced to demolish their own homes under threat of punitive fines, part of a broader strategy aimed at displacing residents and consolidating Israeli control.
UN investigators have documented widespread patterns of intimidation, land confiscation, and economic destruction, amounting to systematic human rights violations that deepen the humanitarian crisis and erode prospects for peace.
It is worth mentioning that since the beginning of the genocide, Israeli occupation forces have abducted more than 16,400 Palestinians, including over 1,300 children and 510 women.
Reports from detainees and advocacy groups point to widespread mistreatment, including physical violence, psychological abuse, and systematic medical neglect.
Hundreds of prisoners suffer from serious health conditions, such as cancer, yet remain without proper care.
Moreover, Israeli occupation authorities continue to withhold the remains of 72 Palestinians who died in custody, among them 17-year-old Walid Ahmad, who is believed to have died of starvation in Megiddo prison.
Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation forces have launched a genocidal campaign against the entire population of 2.3 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the killing of 61,499 citizens, the majority of whom were children and women, and the injury of 153,575 others, in a preliminary toll, as a number of victims remain under the rubble and on the roads, and ambulance and rescue crews are unable to reach them.
In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces and colonizers have killed 194 Palestinian citizens in the occupied West Bank, including 37 children and 6 women, since the beginning of this year, bringing the number of slain Palestinians since October 7, 2023, to 1029, including 210 children, 22 women, 17 elders, 1 journalist, and 2 medics. Israel still refuses to release the corpses of 253 slain Palestinians.
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