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The proposed deal has lead to notable far-right figures in the Knesset threatening to quit.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF JANUARY 17, 2025 00:03 Updated: JANUARY 17, 2025 01:03
THURSDAY’S LONG-AWAITED news of a hostage deal finally hammered out thrust the nation into a whirlpool of mixed emotions. There is elation and despair. Here, protesters in Tel Aviv react after the ceasefire deal was announced on Wednesday evening.
(photo credit: Amir Levy/Getty Images)
The cabinet pushed the hostage release deal meeting back to Saturday, an Israeli government source told CNN on Thursday night.
This date change comes after reports from Israeli media that the smaller state security cabinet would convene on Friday to vote on the deal.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office did not confirm the reports and reported that the cabinet did not meet on Thursday due to a last-minute demand from Hamas.
The Hostage Families Forum called on the government to "put other matters aside, bring everyone back with the urgency required" in a Thursday response to the reports of the date pushback.
"For the 98 hostages, each night is another night of terrible nightmare. Do not delay their return even for one more night," the statement said.
The Tikva Forum, however, said that the new deal "leaves dozens of hostages behind in Gaza" and "sets the stage for the next massacre and future kidnappings of Israelis."
Ministers threaten to quit.
National Security Minister and Otzma Yehudit leader Itamar Ben-Gvir said that he would quit the government if the deal was passed.
"The deal that is taking shape is a reckless deal," Ben-Gvir said in a televised statement, saying it would "erase the achievements of the war" by releasing hundreds of Palestinian militants and withdrawing from strategic areas in Gaza, leaving Hamas undefeated.
"If this irresponsible deal is approved and implemented, we, the members of Jewish Power, will submit letters of resignation to the prime minister," he said, adding that he would, nonetheless, not seek to bring down the government.
Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli promised to quit the government if varying security concerns were not met in the deal.
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“Hamas has managed to greatly extend the duration of the fighting, maintain firm control over Gaza’s population, and preserve some of its military capabilities. The mission is not yet complete,” he wrote in a Thursday statement.
“I am committing here that if there is, God, forbid, a withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor (before achieving the war goals), or if we do not return to fight in order to complete the war goals, I will resign from my position as a minister in the government."
Similarly, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has promised to quit the government if Israel does not return to war with Hamas after the ceasefire.
“The deal that will be presented to the government is both bad and dangerous for Israel’s national security," the head of the Religious Zionist Party said on Wednesday evening, according to reporting from The Jerusalem Post.
"Alongside the immense joy and excitement over the return of each kidnapped individual, this agreement undermines many of the achievements of the war, during which the heroes of this nation risked their lives. It may, God forbid, cost us dearly in blood. We strongly oppose it.
"Our continued presence in the government depends on absolute certainty of resuming the war with full force—on a broad scale and with a renewed strategy—until we achieve a decisive victory, including the complete destruction of Hamas and the safe return of all hostages to their homes."
The Religious Zionist Party will oppose the deal no matter what.
The Post reported that in order for the deal to pass, it must pass votes in the National Security Cabinet and then in the government plenum. Even if the aforementioned parties' ministers vote against the deal, the deal will still have a majority in both the cabinet and government.
Reuters and Eliav Bruer contributed to this report.
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