An Israeli analyst believes that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is delaying concluding a prisoner exchange deal with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) because of his “fear” of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
Haaretz newspaper analyst Amos Harel said in an article published today, Friday, that “the agreement that the United States and Qatar are trying to broker now is to release about 70 hostages in two stages.”
He added, “This is a smaller number than Israel had originally hoped for, and it consists mainly of women and children, and the exchange that Hamas is supposed to receive, in the form of prisoners, is also not particularly high, about 150 female prisoners and minor prisoners.”
He continued, “The details of the proposal were discussed twice this week by the Israeli Military Ministerial Council.”
He pointed out, “Basically, the debate revolves around the number of ceasefire days that will be announced during the completion of the deal: Hamas wants 5 days, but Israel insists on 3, so that the truce does not allow the organization to recover from the harsh military war.”
But he pointed out that “in the background, according to sources in the political arena, there are political calculations for Netanyahu, who, in the eyes of these sources, continued to procrastinate until yesterday (Thursday).”
Netanyahu’s partners
Harel said, “The main obstacle facing the prime minister is his partners in the far-right coalition, especially National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who is looking for a way to distance himself from failure in the war and possibly leave the coalition,” that is, the government.
He added, “Ben Gvir has already attacked the decisions that are being made, albeit in a low-key manner, and at the same time, he is constantly adding fuel to the fire of confrontation by distributing wholesale firearms to dangerous individuals in the West Bank and inside the Green Line, and by spreading childish insults.” For Hamas prisoners.
He continued, “If the extreme right attacks Netanyahu’s position in the wake of the concessions made to Hamas in return, the prime minister will lose his grip on his original coalition,” meaning his current government.
Harel added, “It seems that even in the midst of a terrible war, political survival, which keeps him away from the possibility of being thrown into prison, remains the prime consideration for the prime minister.”
Netanyahu faces charges of bribery, breach of trust, and fraud, which could lead him to prison if the accusations against him are proven, although he denies them.
Harel continued by saying, “Hamas also wants a certain renewal of fuel supplies.”
He said, “The problem is that senior Israeli officials climbed a high tree when they confirmed that not a single drop of fuel would be allowed to enter Gaza, and now they are stuck. By the way, this week Israel allowed fuel to enter UNRWA, the United Nations refugee agency, under American pressure and contrary to Israeli statements.”
Negotiations are taking place between Israel and Hamas through Qatari and Egyptian mediation.
Israel says that Hamas captured 239 Israelis from the border of the Gaza Strip on October 7th.
According to Palestinian estimates, Israeli prisons contain more than 7,000 Palestinian prisoners, and their number increases daily.
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2023-11-17 14:20:27
