On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s talk to the “extreme right-wing” Israeli Channel 14 about a “partial deal” to release detainees in Gaza and later resume the war was met with anger from the families of the prisoners and internal and external criticism.
Netanyahu said – in his first interview with an Israeli channel since the war began on October 7th – that he is ready to reach a deal in which he will return detainees held by the Palestinian Resistance Movement (Hamas) and the rest of the factions, and then return to the war.
These statements deny the American confirmation of Israel’s approval of the agreement proposal presented by President Joe Biden at the end of last May, which stipulates a complete end to the war.
Haaretz newspaper quoted an informed source as saying that Netanyahu’s statement could sabotage the prospects of reaching an agreement.
Shocking statements
Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper also reported – citing informed sources – that Netanyahu’s statements contradict his mandate to the negotiating team to finally stop the war.
The sources described the statements as “shocking,” noting that Hamas wanted to ensure the transition to the second phase of the prisoner exchange deal.
The Israeli Walla website also quoted an official involved in the negotiations as saying that Netanyahu’s statements cause great harm to the possibility of reaching a deal.
For his part, former War Council member and Knesset member Gadi Eisenkot said that Netanyahu’s talk about a partial deal to return detainees contradicts the War Council’s decision.
He added that the War Council voted on a complete deal in one stage, or a comprehensive deal in three stages, explaining that perhaps Netanyahu’s words were a “slip of the tongue,” but it requires immediate clarification to the families of the prisoners and soldiers who are now fighting to return them, as he put it.
National failure
Netanyahu’s statements also angered the families of the prisoners, as the Prisoners’ Families Association in Gaza strongly condemned Netanyahu’s “retreat” from the proposal proposed for the exchange deal.
It considered that ending the war in Gaza without returning the detainees was an unprecedented national failure and a failure to achieve the goals of the war.
The commission added that there is talk of abandoning 120 detainees, which is considered “a violation of the state’s moral obligation towards its citizens.”
She explained that she “will not allow this government and its president to evade their commitment regarding the fate of her loved ones, and that the prime minister must return them all.”
On the other hand, the American CNN network quoted the father of a detainee who died in Gaza as saying that the Israeli Prime Minister did not suggest – during a meeting with the families of the dead prisoners in Gaza – that there would be any shift in the focus and objectives of the army fighting in the Gaza Strip.
The spokesman added that there is a lot of frustration among the families of the dead detainees who want to be sure that Netanyahu will return the bodies of their loved ones.
Israel will not win
On the other hand, Yuli Edelstein, a member of the Knesset from the Likud Party and head of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, said – in a radio interview – that Israel will not defeat Hamas without returning all the detainees.
He added that Netanyahu realizes that it is not possible to talk about a complete victory and the destruction of Hamas without returning the detainees, stressing that he will do anything to return them.
Edelstein explained, “No matter what Israel does to destroy the Hamas leadership, with 120 Israelis remaining in Gaza, some of whom were killed and others whose fate is unknown, this cannot be described as a victory.”
demonstrations
These interactions come in the political scene inside Israel as demonstrations continue calling for stopping the war and concluding an exchange deal, as Tel Aviv Tribune’s correspondent reported that protesters closed a major road junction north of Tel Aviv this morning.
The Israeli protesters set fires and raised banners reading, “Enough with the government of ruin,” in reference to the demand for the overthrow of Netanyahu’s government.
The correspondent stated that the closure of the street caused a stifling traffic crisis in the area.
It is noteworthy that since October 7, 2023, Israel has continued a devastating war on the Gaza Strip with American support, which has left more than 123,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, in addition to thousands of missing people. The war continues despite international and UN calls to stop it and in light of the failure of mediation efforts to conclude a comprehensive exchange deal that will stop the bloodshed and fulfill the demands of all parties.