Israeli spy chief visiting Qatar to revive Gaza peace talks, officials say

The head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency visited Qatar on Thursday to revive the cease-fire and hostage exchange talks with Hamas, officials said.

David Barnea met with Qatari Prime Minister Abdulrahman al-Thani in hopes of restarting the peace talks, which were left frozen after Israel and the US exited Doha and accused Hamas of not negotiating in good faith, two officials with the Jewish state told Reuters.

Barnea’s trip comes as Hamas reportedly sent its own negotiation team to Cairo to try and revive the peace talks, with the terror group claiming it was open to ceding its power in Gaza, but not its weapons.

Hopes for a diplomatic end to the war, which has raged on for more than 21 months, were seemingly dashed last month after the US and Israel pulled out of the negotiating table, claiming Hamas showed “a lack of desire to reach a cease-fire in Gaza.”

The tension at the negotiating table stemmed from Hamas’ refusal to give up its hold over the Gaza Strip and demilitarize, with Israel also rejecting any deal that would establish the groundwork for a full military withdrawal and permanent peace.

With the talks dead in the water, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans last week for a full military takeover of Gaza City, with the aim of pressuring the terror group to come back to the negotiating table.

Hamas officials did just that on Thursday, with one official telling Reuters that the terrorist group was ready to relinquish governance on Gaza to a non-partisan committee.

Hamas, which bills itself as a resistance group, however, said it would not demilitarize until a Palestinian state is formally established.

Netanyahu has long rejected the idea of a Palestinian state, claiming that recognizing one would only reward Hamas and the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack, where the militants killed more than 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others.

Netanyahu has also indicated that the current cease-fire efforts are now all focused on securing a single, comprehensive deal to release all the remaining 50 hostages at once.

During his talks with Al-Thani, Barnea reinforced the idea that any “partial deal is off the table,” a senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel.

With Post wires