(CNN) – A senior advisor to the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahupresented Joe Biden’s government with a new proposal for a ceasefire and hostage agreement with Hamas, an Israeli official told CNN.
The proposal by Gal Hirsh, a close Netanyahu ally who serves as Israel’s coordinator for hostages and missing persons, would mean a permanent end to the conflict in Gazathe release in one stage of all hostages held there in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, and the safe passage for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar to be exiled out of Gaza, according to Kan 11, a national broadcaster Israeli and CNN affiliate.
Reactions to the proposal have generally been that it will not be an option for Hamas, which has not commented on it.
It is unknown whether the proposal addresses the presence of Israeli soldiers in Gaza after a ceasefire and hostage agreement, a key point in the stalled negotiations. And the idea of Sinwar leaving Gaza is seen as unlikely by US officials.
Another Israeli source familiar with the negotiations said the proposal was not being discussed among the Israeli negotiating team as a basis for new negotiations with Hamas, which have been stalled for weeks.
He Hostage Families Forumwho has been scathing of Netanyahu’s approach to the hostage negotiations, welcomed the proposal.
“A single agreement that includes the 101 hostages is the wish of all Israeli citizens in general and the families of the hostages in particular,” the organization said in a statement. “The prime minister must lead with courage, determination and speed the proposal he formulated,” he said.
“We must put an end to almost a year of negligence,” he added.
The proposal comes at a time when prospects for a deal have never been lower. Families of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza have expressed dismay at escalating tensions with Hezbollah in Lebanon, saying a full-scale war there would only reduce the chances of a hostage deal.
US President Joe Biden’s national security advisers have no imminent plans to present the US president with an updated proposal in ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, two senior administration officials told CNN. the latest sign that talks to end the conflict have seriously stalled.
Netanyahu will not meet Biden during his visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly next week, an Israeli source familiar with the matter told CNN.
Hirsh met early last week with Roger Carstens, the US special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, to discuss negotiations to release hostages held in Gaza.
The notion of facilitating Sinwar’s exile has been discussed at various points in the negotiations as part of the later stages of an eventual ceasefire agreement, although there is no indication that Sinwar will agree to such terms.
Gershon Baskin, who has extensive experience in negotiations with Hamas, told CNN that anyone who thought Sinwar would leave Gaza “does not live in this world.”
“Gaza is the sea of Sinwar and he is a fish. “A fish does not leave the sea voluntarily.”
However, if the agreement included the complete withdrawal of Israeli soldiers from Gaza, it would be “an agreement that Hamas is willing to accept,” Baskin added.
Previously, when the idea of allowing top Hamas leaders like Sinwar to leave Gaza as part of a ceasefire deal was floated, U.S. officials said they thought Sinwar was unlikely to agree. They cited Israel’s assassinations of Hamas leaders in foreign capitals and said they believed Sinwar would rather die fighting Israel than leave Gaza.
“I even think that we will agree to build a safe passage for the main terrorist, the new Hitler, Sinwar; safe passage for him and whoever joins him out of Gaza,” Hirsh told CNN earlier this month.
CNN’s Kevin Liptak contributed to this report
