Israeli journalist Ben Caspit disclosed Thursday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conducted secret, direct negotiations with a senior Hamas official during the 2014 Gaza conflict known as Operation Protective Edge, even as an Israeli security delegation was simultaneously holding ceasefire talks in Cairo on behalf of the government.
According to Caspit's report, while the official Israeli delegation traveled repeatedly to the Egyptian capital for mediated ceasefire negotiations, Netanyahu opened a separate, clandestine communication channel with Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas figure in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli security team's trips to Cairo were coordinated and conducted according to clear directives from Netanyahu, Caspit reported. However, security officials discovered that the prime minister was simultaneously managing a parallel track, a personal and secret channel directly with Hamad, without informing those involved in the official negotiations.
The prime minister reportedly communicated directly with the Hamas official without intermediaries.
