American, Qatari negotiators were left furious after Egypt went rogue and presented amended deal to Hamas.
By World Israel News Staff
Egyptian intelligence officials covertly edited the terms of a ceasefire agreement that was presented to Hamas, dooming the talks and sparking backlash from Qatari and American negotiators.
According to a CNN report, the Egyptian negotiating team took a proposal that Israel had agreed to – which was described by the Biden administration as “extraordinarily generous” – and amended the terms, in order to make the deal even more appealing to the terror group.
Hamas accepted that amended version, but Israel swiftly announced that what was presented to the terror group was “very far” from the terms to which Israel had agreed.
A senior Biden administration official told the news outlet that Qatari and American interlocuters were puzzled as to why Egypt had given the proposal to Hamas with the secretly changed terms.
“It doesn’t make sense,” the official said. “We were all duped.”
One theory is that Egypt believed Hamas accepting a deal – even one that included terms unacceptable to Israel – would pressure Jerusalem into agreeing to temporarily halt fighting in the Strip.
Regardless of the Egyptians’ motivations for the clandestine changes, Qatar was left embarrassed by the ruse.
Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani personally informed the Mossad, which was party to the negotiations, that the Egyptians had acted without his approval.
CIA Director Bill Burns, who was heavily involved in brokering the agreement, was furious that Egypt had gone rogue and presented Hamas with an edited proposal.
Burns “almost blew a gasket,” the source told CNN.
The unauthorized deal had raised hopes for a ceasefire, but the discovery of the deception led to talks stalling out.
“Hamas was telling their people, ‘We will have a deal in place tomorrow,’” the source said.
“All sides were under the assumption the Egyptians provided the same document” that Israel had approved.
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