In August, 2018, several days after a round of fighting between Israel and Hamas, a dramatic meeting was held, attended by the then-heads of the various security forces - IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot, Shabak head Nadav Argaman, and Mossad head Yossi Cohen, on the topic of Israel's soldiers and citizens being held in Hamas captivity.
The content of that meeting and its ramifications have now been revealed by Ro'i Sharon of Kan News.
According to the report summarizing the meeting, senior security officials had reached the conclusion that the existing conditions were the best possible for Israel in order to reach an agreement for a prisoner exchange, one that would, for a reasonable price, bring back home Israel's two fallen soldiers, Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul who were killed in Operation Protective Edge, as well as two live civilians being held by Hamas - Avera Mengistu and Hisham A-Sayad.
The report, a document classified as "top-secret," stated that Israel was willing to release Hamas prisoners, but "would not release terrorists with blood on their hands." In return, Hamas would release the four captives.
The title of the document was, "Initiative of the heads of security forces for returning the captives and missing soldiers from the Gaza Strip."
According to the plan developed, the first stage would include a mutual ceasefire and a cessation of civilian sanctions on the part of Israel, as well as the opening of the Kerem Shalom crossing and the expansion of the fishing area allocated to Gaza. At a later point in time, the amount of electricity allocated to Gaza was also to be increased, and the issue of salaries solved via funding from Qatar.
The second stage of the plan involved the prisoner exchange itself, and the third stage involved taking steps to improve the Gazan economy and rehabilitate the region.
Also written in the document was the statement that, "Delaying the prisoner-exchange deal and removing it from the agenda is likely to lead to a solution becoming more remote, even by a matter of years."
According to security officials, this was the closest opportunity Israel had since Operation Protective Edge to advance a prisoner-exchange deal with Hamas.
According to Kan News' report, the plan was presented to then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but no decision was reached and no further meetings were held on the issue.