Hamas takes a big risk in deal to release hostages

By ADAM RASGON

Hamas took a significant risk by agreeing to release the remaining hostages in the Gaza Strip, giving up much of the leverage it has with Israel with no certainty that it would achieve all of what it wanted in return.

The Palestinian militant group had long said it was willing to release all the hostages in exchange for the complete withdrawal of Israeli military forces from Gaza, a permanent end to the war and the release of Palestinian prisoners. The deal reached Thursday only guarantees one of those three things: the prisoner release.

There is no certainty it will lead to the end of the war and, initially, it only provides for a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces.

Analysts said that was a big compromise that reflected how Hamas had been severely weakened during the two-year war and had come under tremendous pressure recently from important allies such as Qatar and Turkey.

“Hamas just made major concessions,” said Esmat Mansour, a Palestinian analyst who spent years in Israeli prisons with Hamas leaders. “It is taking a risk in believing the war will end, but it also has few other options at its disposal.”

The agreement calls for the exchange of all the surviving hostages, and the bodies of others, for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

The deal does not address a number of issues that have been stubborn sticking points in past rounds of Gaza ceasefire negotiations, leaving them for future discussions, according to two officials from an Arab mediating country, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details.

The outstanding issues include a plan for postwar governance of Gaza and Israel’s long-standing demand for Hamas to disarm.

These officials said that, by agreeing, Hamas put its trust in the United States to ensure Israel does not restart the war.

In future negotiations, Hamas could still extract concessions from Israel, possibly leaving it with some access to weapons and a role in postwar Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has consistently said Hamas must be disarmed before the war in Gaza can end. Hamas has long regarded that as tantamount to surrender and views armed struggle as a legitimate form of resistance against Israeli control over Palestinian lands.

A “long road is ahead of us,” Mansour said. “The remaining issues are not easy ones.”