Media: Israel ready to mull first stage of Egypt-proposed plan on Gaza

Israel doesn’t exclude the possibility of implementing the first stage of the plan proposed by Egypt to resolve the conflict in the Middle East. This phase involves the release of Israeli hostages held by the radical Palestinian movement Hamas, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners from Israel, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Report informs referring to TASS.

Danny Danon, a member of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and the country’s former permanent representative to the UN, noted that Israeli authorities are considering Egypt’s proposal because they seriously take any opportunity that allows for the release of the hostages. Danon added that in the future it will probably be possible to resume the first stage of the plan, which involves the release of hostages and prisoners.

At the same time, the MP made it clear that as part of this plan, which also addresses the issue of governance of the Gaza Strip after the end of the conflict, the Jewish state won’t allow any participation of Hamas in the future of the enclave.

The Israeli official added that the authorities of the Jewish state appreciate Egypt’s participation in resolving the conflict, which played an important role in the release of the hostages.