During the meeting of the political-security cabinet on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected ministers’ requests to discuss and vote on a partial ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), saying, “There is no need for a vote, and this is not on the agenda.”
He also claimed that the proposal approved by Hamas “is no longer relevant to reality,” according to Israeli media reports on Monday. This comes as Israeli enemy suffers more losses on the ground due to clashes with Palestinian resistance fighters. Israeli Channel 12 revealed that a secret internal document within the Israeli army acknowledged the failure of the so-called “Gideon Wagons” operation, noting at the same time that the document acknowledges that the operation’s objectives of defeating Hamas and returning the prisoners were not achieved.
In the details of the meeting, the ministers who requested a vote on the partial agreement, including the so-called Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, brought up the issue of a vote after expressing their opposition to the agreement. The Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces, Eyal Zamir, supported it and spoke of its advantages, despite Netanyahu’s refusal to discuss the matter.
Zamir told the cabinet ministers that “there is a proposal on the table, and it must be approved,” and that the “Gideon Vehicles” military operation “created the conditions for the return of the kidnapped soldiers,” he claimed.
Zamir also noted the importance of rehabilitating forces and repairing military equipment, and said that the Israeli army would be able to “return to combat and continue achieving the objectives of the war afterward.”
The cabinet meeting lasted six hours and concluded at 1:30 a.m. last night. It focused primarily on the military plans for the Gaza City occupation, the continuation of the war, its objectives, and the timetable, which Netanyahu requested be shortened.
The proposed agreement stipulates that Hamas release ten living Israeli prisoners and 18 dead ones within 60 days, during which a ceasefire will be implemented and negotiations will be held to end the war, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
The cabinet meeting was held in a secret government bunker under unusually tight security from the Shin Bet security service. This followed the assassination of Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Ghaleb Al-Rahwi and a number of Yemeni ministers and officials last Thursday.
It should be noted that the occupation authorities have not yet provided their response to the proposed full agreement, which would see the return of 48 of their living and dead prisoners still being held in the Gaza Strip although Hamas submitted a positive initial response to such a proposal about two weeks ago
In this context, the families of the Israeli prisoners accused Netanyahu and his government of deliberately sabotaging an agreement.
