Top Israeli negotiators refuse joining next round of ceasefire talks citing govt 'sabotage'

The Israeli prime minister is making a 'dangerous bet on the lives' of the Israeli captives by continuing to block a deal

News Desk - The Cradle 

Relatives and supporters of Israelis taken captive by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza during the October 7 attacks, hold placards during a demonstration calling for their release, in Tel Aviv on May 9, 2024. (Photo credit: Jack Guez/AFP)

Two top Israeli officials have refused to travel to Qatar for talks with Hamas regarding a Gaza ceasefire, citing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's efforts to sabotage the negotiations, Israel's Channel 12 reported on 27 July.

Head of the Prisoners and Missing Persons Administration, Nitzan Alon, and the head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, stated they “do not intend to travel to Qatar next week.” Both officials believe that “there is no point in traveling,” because Netanyahu “wants to make changes to the deal that Hamas will not accept. Therefore, Mossad chief Yossi Cohen will travel alone.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu is demanding that conditions be added to the current proposal for a ceasefire deal with Hamas in an effort to “cause a crisis” in the negotiations that will cost the lives of Israeli captives still in Gaza, Israeli media further reported Saturday.

“He thinks that if he hardens positions, Hamas will break, but he’s taking a dangerous bet on the lives of the hostages,” said sources quoted by the Kan broadcaster and the Ynet news site.

“There is no more time,” the sources said.

“Netanyahu is single-minded, and his position does not allow for negotiations to begin,” the sources continued. “It's not clear if he wants a deal.”

The prime minister is currently in the US, where he gave a speech to Congress on Wednesday, met with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday, and visited former US president Donald Trump in Florida on Friday.

Netanyahu's effort to stall the talks comes amid claims by White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby that a deal is near.  He told Kan on Friday that “we're as close now as we've ever been, closer I'd say.”

Before speaking to Congress, Netanyahu delayed the departure of the negotiating team for talks in Qatar while claiming during his speech he was doing everything in his power to bring the captives home.

Einav Tsengaoker, the mother of a captive held by Hamas, told Channel 12: “Instead of declaring in Congress that Netanyahu accepts the deal on the table, he is preventing its implementation for personal reasons. Even if we are informed of more abductees who died in the tunnels, he will continue his PR campaign in the US and will continue to drag his feet.”

Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz also criticized Netanyahu's refusal to accept a ceasefire deal and captive exchange that was proposed by Israeli negotiators and accepted by Hamas two months ago.

Gantz emphasized: “The abductees do not have another day, and there is not another minute.” According to him, “we have lost a quarter of the living abductees” because the ceasefire proposal has not been accepted.

Israeli affairs expert Hassan Marhej told Al Mayadeen that talk of a prisoner exchange deal “has become very distant” after Netanyahu's speech in the US Congress.

It is estimated that 111 of the 251 Israeli soldiers and civilians taken captive by Hamas on 7 October remain in Gaza. This includes the bodies of 39 captives who were likely killed by the Israeli bombing of the strip that has killed over 39,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinians held captive in Israeli prisons. Hamas released four Israeli captives before that. Israeli troops have rescued seven captives.