Bill Burns, the United States intelligence chief, is set to engage in crucial discussions in Paris with Israeli representatives, aimed at reviving negotiations for a truce in Gaza, a Western source familiar with the matter disclosed on Friday. This strategic meeting, which is scheduled to occur either on Friday or Saturday, follows Israel’s approval to restart talks for the exchange of Israeli captives held by Hamas in Gaza for a ceasefire agreement.
The dialogues in Paris come in the wake of previously stalled talks in Cairo and Doha, where Qatar and Egypt served as mediators for Hamas. These earlier discussions ended earlier this month without an agreement, as both Israel and the Palestinian resistance group expressed dissatisfaction with each other’s terms.
It remains uncertain whether representatives from Qatar or Egypt will participate in the Paris negotiations.
According to The New York Times, Burns is expected to meet David Barnea, the head of Israel’s Mossad. Furthermore, Axios, a US-based news outlet, reported that Burns might also meet with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani alongside Barnea.
The reports from Axios suggest that Israeli negotiators have recently formulated a new proposal to renew the talks regarding captives, incorporating some adjustments to Israel’s previous stance from the last negotiation round in Cairo.
