Gershon Baskin, known for his role in facilitating past negotiations between Israel and Hamas, including the release of Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit in 2011, put forward a proposal to his contacts within the Palestinian group earlier this month.

In an interview with Anadolu, he said Hamas agreed to the terms, which included an end to Israeli presence in Gaza, along with the release of all Israeli hostages and “an agreed upon” number of Palestinians in Israeli prisons – all within the span of just three weeks.

The persistent deadlock in talks for a ceasefire is because “the positions of Israel and Hamas are diametrically opposed,” according to Baskin. “Hamas says that they will not make any agreement with Israel that does not end the war, and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s position is that he will not make an agreement with Hamas that ends the war,” he explained.