Israel's National Security Minister threatens to topple govt over emerging hostage deal
Jan 31, 2024
Tel Aviv [Israel], January 31 (ANI/TPS): Israel's National Security Minister, Otzma Yehudit Party leader Itamar Ben-Gvir, threatened on Tuesday to bring down the government if it reaches a "reckless" hostage deal with Hamas.
His tweet came amid apparent progress on an agreement to free the 136 captives remaining in Gaza whom the terrorist group abducted during its October 7 attack on communities near the Strip.
In an apparent response to Ben-Gvir's tweet, opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote on X that his Yesh Atid Party and its 24 Knesset members would give the government full backing for a deal to free the hostages.
"In the last 116 days, I met with dozens of families of abductees. I promised them and I repeat my promise: We will give the government a safety net for any deal that will return the abductees to their homes and families. This is our commitment to the abductees and their families, this is our commitment," Lapid wrote in a lengthy series of tweets.
Qatar-based Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh said on Tuesday that the terrorist group would study a proposal received from negotiations between the interested parties in Paris on Sunday, adding that he would visit Cairo for talks on the initiative.
Haniyeh said that the priority for Hamas is an end to Israel's military offensive in Gaza and a withdrawal of all troops from the coastal enclave. The demand to end the war runs counter to Israel's stated goal of destroying the terrorist group.
According to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, the Paris meeting was "defined as constructive." However, "there are still significant gaps which the sides will continue to discuss at additional mutual meetings to be held this week."
Mossad chief David Barnea, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) Director Ronen Bar and Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon, the Israel Defense Forces' point man for hostage negotiations, met with Qatari and Egyptian mediators at the Paris talks.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Abbas Kamel, head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate, and CIA Director William Burns also participated in the meeting.
Unconfirmed reports describe the emerging agreement as a two-month ceasefire with the release of more than 100 hostages in stages. Israel would also increase the amount of humanitarian aid into the Strip and commute the prison sentences of an unspecified number of Palestinian terrorists. (ANI/TPS)
