A “last minute crisis” has prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay a Cabinet vote to approve a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas.
The Israeli PM accused the terror group of backing out of part of the agreement in an effort “to extort last minute concessions.”
“Hamas is reneging on the understandings and creating a last-minute crisis that is preventing an agreement,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
“The Israeli cabinet will not convene until the mediators notify Israel that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement.”
Overnight the PMO said the purported dispute was related to the identity of Palestinian security prisoners slated for release. It said Hamas was “demanding to dictate the identity of these murderers,” contradicting agreed-upon terms.
A leaked version of the deal said prisoners would be released “based on lists agreed upon by both sides.”
Last night, the prime minister of Qatar as well as both US President Joe Biden and US President-elect Donald Trump announced that a deal had been reached, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has continued to insist that the final deal has not been inked and some outstanding details remain. (The Times of Israel)
A senior Hamas official has denied the claim.
"There is no basis to Netanyahu's claims about the movement backtracking from terms in the ceasefire agreement," Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP.
President Biden joined Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken for a Wednesday news conference announcing that the deal would roll out in three phases.
Biden said the first phase will last six weeks and "includes a full and complete cease-fire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the populated areas of Gaza, and the release of a number of hostages held by Hamas, including women and elderly and the wounded. And I'm proud to say Americans will be part of that hostage release and phase one as well. And the vice president and I cannot wait to welcome them home," he said.
In exchange, Israel released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, Biden said, and Palestinians "can also return to their neighborhoods in all areas of Gaza, and a surge of humanitarian assistance into Gaza will begin." (Fox News)
The Israeli Cabinet was scheduled to meet Thursday to approve the ceasefire and hostage deal.