Israeli media said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoned Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to his office to inform him of the details of the proposed deal to return the “kidnapped,” in reference to Israeli prisoners held by the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli Channel 7 quoted Ben Gvir as threatening again that if Netanyahu continued on the path of concluding the deal, he would dissolve the government.
Ben Gvir added that the deal, the details of which were published, means abandoning the destruction of Hamas and abandoning the continuation of the war, describing it as an irresponsible deal.
In turn, Israeli Channel 7 said that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich met with the rabbis of the Religious Zionism Party that he leads, and that the meeting discussed the party’s continued membership in the emergency government if an exchange deal was reached according to the current formula.
The channel reported that Smotrich made clear during the meeting that he does not intend to allow a dangerous deal to be concluded, and that he continues to conduct consultations regarding possible scenarios.
War council meeting
Meanwhile, the Israeli War Council held a meeting to discuss the exchange deal, amid conflicting news about the Israeli position on the proposal on the table to conclude the exchange deal after US President Joe Biden announced its details.
While the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said that the negotiating team withheld the details of the proposal from the Ministerial Council for fear of its contents being leaked; The American CBS network quoted an Israeli official as saying that Netanyahu and the war council had agreed to the proposal, but were awaiting Hamas’ response.
In turn, Minister of the Israeli War Council Benny Gantz said that he spoke with the US Secretary of State about the efforts made to reach a deal to release the prisoners.
Gantz added that he informed Blinken that returning the prisoners is a top priority and that he will do his best to exhaust every opportunity to do so.
He indicated that he informed Blinken of the importance of American pressure on the mediators in order to implement the broad guidelines set by Israel.
Searching for an alternative to Hamas
Regarding the day after the war, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said that Israel will not accept the idea of Hamas remaining as an authority at any stage, and that work is underway to find alternative parties to govern the Gaza Strip.
Gallant added that combining the military operation with preparations for the formation of an alternative government in Gaza will achieve two goals of the war, which are the overthrow of Hamas’ rule, the destruction of its military power, and the return of Israeli prisoners detained in Gaza.
The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said that Gallant told US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that any deal in Gaza must include the dismantling of Hamas as a governmental and military authority.
In parallel, the families of Israeli prisoners detained by the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip organized a protest inside the Knesset building during the meeting of the Chairman of the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Security Committee with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
