It’s unlikely that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s "basic guidelines have changed dramatically” when it comes to his decision to send an Israeli delegation to Cairo or Doha to attend next week’s talks on a Gaza ceasefire deal, former Israeli intelligence official and regional analyst Avi Melamed told Sputnik.
"I don't think that what we see here is a shift of 180 degrees. But I do think that Netanyahu also is aware of the fact that, at the end of the day, the maneuvering space is narrowing, and he needs to move forward, both for domestic as well as for regional and international reasons," Melamed pointed out.
It seems Netanyahu is advancing to “some sort of a breakthrough in this whole situation,” the analyst said, warning at the same time that “the whole thing is obviously hanging by a thread.”
"If there was going to be a Hezbollah/Iranian attack [on Israel], it is going to result in severe outcomes," the ex-Israeli intelligence official cautioned, in a nod to the two’s possible retaliation against the Jewish state over the recent assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders.
On the other hand, Israel’s desire to take part in the Gaza talks amid growing regional tensions "may have to do with the fact that, at the end of the day, when you put aside the whole issue of the retaliation, the basic interest of major players in wars like Israel, Iran, Hezbollah is to avoid a wider escalation," the pundit argued. In other words, "each side has in this point some interesting conjunction of interests," Melamed concluded.
The US, Qatar and Egypt earlier urged Israel and Hamas to resume urgent discussions on August 15 "to close all remaining gaps" and start implementing a ceasefire agreement in Gaza without "further delay."