The statement by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) regarding Israel’s “red lines” of a possible hostage deal and the end of the Israel-Hamas war, which was issued on Sunday evening, received responses and criticism, including from those within the government.
The PMO issued the statement ahead of a critical Doha summit on the matter of the Gaza hostages and ceasefire talks, to be led by CIA Director William Burns on Wednesday.
Ynet noted that Netanyahu’s announcement came shortly before a situational assessment with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and other military personnel, and came without any prior agreement or consulting beforehand.
‘The hostages will not return’
A security official privy to the proceedings was quoted by Ynet as stating that this is “improper conduct that will harm the chance of returning the hostages home. There is also a question of timing here. If you issue the announcement even before the assessment has started – then why hold an assessment? If this is the conduct, the hostages will not return.”
Opposition leader and chairman of Yesh Atid Yair Lapid responded to the PMO’s statement, saying, “I have one response to the announcement from the Prime Minister’s Office: What is it good for?”
“We are at a critical moment in the negotiations, the lives of the hostages depend on it, why issue such provocative messages? How does it contribute to the process?,” Lapid’s statement concluded.
יש לי תגובה אחת להודעת לשכת ראש הממשלה: בשביל מה זה טוב? אנחנו ברגע קריטי במשא-ומתן, חיי החטופים תלויים בזה, בשביל מה להוציא הודעות מתגרות כאלה? איך זה תורם לתהליך?
— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) July 7, 2024
Chairman of the Democrats, the recent union between Labor and Meretz, Yair Golan, responded to Netanyahu’s announcement while attending a demonstration on Begin Street in Tel Aviv on Sunday evening.
“Why is he issuing this message to the press? He wants to thwart the deal with all his might. We need to put an end to this, send Netanyahu home and now.”
“Go out into the streets, see what’s going on behind me. Come out in droves, we alone, the people, will bring the deal, bring the ceasefire, bring the restoration of Israel,” Golan stated.
Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.
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