Israeli media said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to ensure that the exchange deal will not lead to the disintegration of his government, while two officials vowed that US President-elect Donald Trump will run the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) if it rejects the deal.
Maariv newspaper reported that Netanyahu is seeking to ensure that the exchange deal will enjoy the support of his coalition partners and will not cost it the dismantling of the government.
For its part, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority said that Netanyahu will hold personal meetings with ministers, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, amid progress in prisoner negotiations.
Netanyahu had directed the heads of the Mossad, David Barnea, the General Security Agency (Shin Bet), Ronen Bar, his political advisor, and the army representative, to travel to the Qatari capital, Doha, to join the negotiations on the exchange deal.
Netanyahu also met with Defense Minister Israel Katz, and leaders of the security and military establishment, regarding the negotiations.
For her part, Israeli Settlement Minister Orit Struck criticized the prisoner deal on the negotiating table. It was a clear victory for terrorism, she said.
The minister warned that many Israeli soldiers would pay with their lives for completing the deal, according to her description. She added, “All the efforts that were accomplished in Gaza to eliminate Hamas will be in vain.”
In response to the Settlement Minister’s statements, the father of a captive Israeli soldier described the Minister’s statements about the exchange deal as shameful and terrible.
Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper quoted the father of the captured soldier as saying that Struck spoke on behalf of Trump as if he were her colleague in the “Religious Zionism” party, as he put it.
The father of the captured soldier added that the fighting in Gaza is absurd, at the expense of the lives of Israeli soldiers and the suffering of detainees.
In this context, the New York Times quoted Israeli officials as saying that “there will be no agreement without a list of names of living hostages.”
An American threat
On the other hand, US Vice President-elect Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, said that the latter clearly threatened Hamas that it would pay a heavy price if a deal was not reached before he arrived at the White House.
He added that the price that Hamas may pay is that the United States enables Israel to eliminate what remains of it.
For his part, Mike Waltz, Trump’s nominee for the position of National Security Advisor, said that if Hamas rejects the prisoner deal by January 20, the conditions will become worse for it after Trump’s inauguration.
As for the current US National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, he said that reaching an agreement on the release of prisoners in exchange for a ceasefire in Gaza has become imminent, and that President Joe Biden’s envoy to the Middle East has been in Doha for more than a week to achieve this.
Sullivan revealed – in an interview with CNN – the possibility of reaching an agreement before President Trump’s inauguration on the twentieth of this month, adding that he expects Biden to speak with Netanyahu to discuss negotiations on the prisoner deal and a ceasefire.
Trump intervenes
In a related development, Axios quoted an American source as saying that Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, returned to Qatar after talks in Israel during which he met with Netanyahu, and that he will continue to help in negotiating the prisoner deal.
Axios quoted an Israeli official as saying that Witkoff is playing a decisive role in the negotiations, and that he is exerting pressure on behalf of Trump.
Israeli Channel 12 quoted an Israeli official as saying that Trump had begun – during the past two days – to intervene personally, and that he wanted to reach an agreement as soon as possible, and before he took office.
For its part, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation quoted sources as saying that there was progress, which it described as very significant, in the deal negotiations with Hamas.
The broadcasting corporation revealed that what led to this progress was Israel’s expression of its willingness to negotiate the second phase, which may include ending the war, with the agreement entering into force.
Axios also quoted the Israeli official as saying that the talks scheduled for Sunday in Doha are important and will show whether Hamas wants to reach an agreement.
The Israeli official indicated that sending the heads of the negotiating team came to make quick and effective decisions after the progress achieved. The Israeli official expressed his hope that Hamas would also be effective in the negotiations.