Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu sends Mossad director to Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar
Nahariya (Israel), Jan 11: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved sending the director of the Mossad foreign intelligence agency to ceasefire negotiations in Qatar in a sign of progress in talks on the war in Gaza.
Netanyahu's office announced the decision Saturday. It was not immediately clear when David Barnea would travel to Qatar's capital, Doha, site of the latest round of indirect talks between Israel and the Hamas group. His presence means high-level Israeli officials who would need to sign off on any agreement are now involved.
Just one brief ceasefire has been achieved in 15 months of war, and that occurred in the earliest weeks of fighting. The talks mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar have repeatedly stalled since then.
Netanyahu has insisted on destroying Hamas' ability to fight in Gaza. Hamas has insisted on a full Israeli troop withdrawal from the largely devastated territory. On Thursday, Gaza's Health Ministry said over 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war.
Also being sent to Qatar are the head of Israel's Shin Bet internal security agency and military and political advisers. Netanyahu's office said the decision followed a meeting with his defence minister, security chiefs and negotiators “on behalf of the outgoing and incoming US administrations.”
The office also released a photo showing Netanyahu with President-elect Donald Trump's incoming special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, who was in Qatar this week.
Families of the roughly 100 hostages still held in Gaza after being seized in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that sparked the war are pressing Netanyahu to reach a deal to bring their loved ones home.
The recovery of two hostages' bodies in the past week renewed fears that time is running out. Hamas has said that after months of heavy fighting, it isn't sure who is alive or dead.
Israel and Hamas are under pressure from outgoing US President Joe Biden and Trump to reach a deal before the January 20 inauguration.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week a deal is “very close” and he hoped to complete it before handing over diplomacy to the incoming Trump administration. But US officials have expressed similar optimism on several occasions over the past year.
Issues in the talks have included which hostages would be released in the first part of a phased ceasefire deal, which Palestinian prisoners would be released and the extent of any Israeli troop withdrawal from population centres in Gaza.
Hamas and other groups killed some 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages into Gaza in the attack that started the war. A truce in November 2023 freed more than 100 hostages, while others have been rescued or their remains have been recovered over the past year.
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BJP eyes gains in polls to five assemblies; West Bengal main challenge
New Delhi (PTI): Stakes are high for the BJP in the upcoming polls to five assemblies, with West Bengal being the major test case for the saffron party.
In the 2021 West Bengal assembly polls, the BJP emerged as the main opposition with its tally surging to 77 seats in the 294-member assembly from three in 2016.
With a recalibrated poll strategy, the BJP is confident of unseating the TMC from power this time by cashing in on the anti-incumbency sentiments against the Mamata Banerjee government. The party is also hoping to gain public sentiment by raising the issue of corruption and infiltration in the state.
The TMC has been in power in West Bengal for 15 years.
However, the biggest challenge for the BJP is the absence of a local charismatic leader in West Bengal. While the saffron party is banking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership to win the battle there, Banerjee continues to be a formidable face in the state.
In Assam, the BJP-led NDA is confident of scoring a hat-trick under the leadership of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, banking on its governance record and organisational strength.
But its march to victory may not be a cakewalk, with the Congress-led opposition making efforts to cash in on anti-incumbency and local grievances against the ruling dispensation.
The BJP-led NDA may also face resistance from sections of minority voters, particularly Bengali-speaking Muslims, amid criticism from the opposition over the government's eviction drives and rhetoric around illegal immigration.
Issues such as long-pending demands of six communities for Scheduled Tribe status could also figure in the electoral discourse.
The BJP has been on the rise in Assam since the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and came to power in the state for the first time in 2016 by winning 60 seats in the 126-member assembly. It improved its tally to 64 in the 2021 assembly elections.
Its allies AGP, UPPL and BPF have nine, seven, and three MLAs in the outgoing assembly.
In the opposition camp, the Congress has 26 MLAs, AIUDF has 15 members, and CPI(M) has one MLA. There is an Independent legislator as well.
In the south, the BJP has been making renewed efforts to expand its toehold in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, banking on its performance in past elections. But its success depends on its allies.
The BJP, which could not win any seat in the last assembly polls in Kerala, is hoping to gain some ground this time, riding on its success in the recent civic body polls, even as the Congress-led UDF and CPI(M)-led LDF are the prime contenders in the state.
Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala and Puducherry will be held on a single day on April 9, in Tamil Nadu on April 23, and in two phases in West Bengal on April 23 and 29, while votes will be counted for all polls on May 4, the Election Commission announced on Sunday.
