Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to hold an emergency cabinet meeting on Tuesday after Hamas said it would postpone the next Israeli hostage in the Gaza Strip, adding pressure to the already fragile three-week ceasefire.
Safety cabinets will consider how (or whether it is) to conduct ongoing negotiations to ensure the safe release of all hostages this spring.
At the meeting, relatives of the hostage blocked Israel’s main highway and protested signs and orange smoke bombs. Even as one family rejoiced at receiving information about the life proofs of 27-year-old twins Gali and Ziv Berman, another family was told Shlomo Mantzur was the oldest hostage at 86, who was killed.
Mr Netanyahu said on Monday that he would postpone the release of several hostages indefinitely and is expected to be released on Saturday. Hamas accused Israel of violating part of the ceasefire agreement.
Hours later, President Trump threw down his gloves and demanded that all the remaining hostages be released in the early hours of Saturday or “all hell will erupt.”
Only a few Israeli hostages have been released every week since the ceasefire began, which is as required in the first phase of the negotiation agreement, lifting hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons.
In the initial portion of the transaction that will expire in early March, 16 of the 33 Israeli hostages have been released as needed. About 60 hostages are believed to be dead, some of whom will be released in the second phase, intended to last for six weeks.
But some Israeli officials boycotted the second phase of the deal, which included negotiations on how to completely end the 15-month war, urging continued fighting with Hamas and possibly rescue hostages soon.
“Trump is right! Go back and destroy it now!” far-right MP Itama Ben-Gvir said in a social media post Tuesday morning.
Others hope that negotiations with the United States, Egypt and Qatar as intermediaries continue as the only way to ensure hostage safety and usher in lasting peace.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote on social media: “Signs of life for Twins Gali and Ziv Berman are a wake-up call for the Israeli government this morning.” “Netanyahu, go to Doha. Take everyone home. Time runs out. ”
Hamas announced the delay on the next prisoner exchange after Trump repeatedly said last Monday that Palestinians should be evacuated from Gaza and moved to Jordan and Egypt. Under international law, being forced to expel civilians is a war crime.
In an interview with Fox News that aired Monday night, Mr. Trump said about 2 million Palestinians in Gaza have no right to eventually return home, “because they will have better housing – in other words, I say It is to build a permanent place for them.”
On Tuesday, Arab media reported that Hamas’ latest comments on Trump were not limited. “Trump should remember that both sides must comply with an agreement, which is the only way for hostages to return,” Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Alaraby TV.
Palestinians, Arab states and even some American allies in Europe have completely rejected his proposal to force Gazans from their homes.
Jordanian King Abdullah II will meet Trump in Washington on Tuesday. However, plans for the upcoming visit by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi appear to be scrapped.
The ghost of the ceasefire disintegrates other world leaders.
“We must restore hostilities in Gaza at all costs, which will lead to a huge tragedy,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres wrote on social media. “I call on Hamas to continue the planned hostage liberation . Both sides must fully abide by their commitments in the ceasefire agreement and resume serious negotiations.”
Gabby Sobelman Contribution report.
