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Report: CIA Chief to Meet Israeli, Qatari Officials for Hostage Deal Talks

Families and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza hold their photos and shout slogans at a rally calling for their return, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023. (AP)
Families and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza hold their photos and shout slogans at a rally calling for their return, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023. (AP)
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Report: CIA Chief to Meet Israeli, Qatari Officials for Hostage Deal Talks

Families and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza hold their photos and shout slogans at a rally calling for their return, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023. (AP)
Families and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza hold their photos and shout slogans at a rally calling for their return, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023. (AP)

CIA chief Bill Burns will meet Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and the head of Israel's Mossad spy agency in Warsaw on Monday to discuss a potential new deal to secure the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, two US officials told Reuters.

Both officials spoke on customary condition of anonymity.

Earlier, the Axios news website had reported the meeting would take place, citing two US and Israeli officials.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to confirm on Saturday that new negotiations were under way to recover hostages held by Hamas after a source said Israel's intelligence chief met the prime minister of Qatar, a country mediating in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

A source with knowledge of the matter said that Mossad head David Barnea met Al Thani in Europe late on Friday.

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PKK Would Leave Syria if Kurdish Forces Keep Leadership Role, Official Says

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters are pictured in Sinjar, northwest Iraq, on March 11, 2015. Asmaa Waguih/Reuters
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters are pictured in Sinjar, northwest Iraq, on March 11, 2015. Asmaa Waguih/Reuters
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PKK Would Leave Syria if Kurdish Forces Keep Leadership Role, Official Says

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters are pictured in Sinjar, northwest Iraq, on March 11, 2015. Asmaa Waguih/Reuters
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters are pictured in Sinjar, northwest Iraq, on March 11, 2015. Asmaa Waguih/Reuters

An official with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) said on Thursday the militant group would agree to leave northeastern Syria if the US-allied Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) maintains a significant joint leadership role there.
"Any initiative resulting in the governance of northeastern Syria under the control of the SDF, or in which they have a significant role in joint leadership, will lead us to agree to leave the region," the official at the group's political office in northern Iraq said.
The PKK is considered a terrorist group by Türkiye, the United States and Europe. It has fought a separatist insurgency against the Turkish state for 40 years and more than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
After the ousting of president Bashar Al-Assad in Damascus last month, Ankara has threatened to crush the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which is a part of the SDF that it says is an extension of the PKK.
Ankara has said the SDF must be disbanded and all senior PKK members ousted from Syria or it will strike, prompting negotiations over the future of the SDF, which is the main US ally in the fight against ISIS in northeastern Syria.
Washington has called for a "managed transition" for its Kurdish allies and the SDF commander has said any PKK members would leave Syria if Türkiye agrees a ceasefire.
In a written statement, the PKK official said that if the group leaves Syria it would continue monitoring from afar and will act against Turkish forces or moves as needed.
"The future of Syria will be determined after the 20th of this month, once Trump assumes power," the official said, referring to US President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday.