The Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal is on the “brink of collapse” due to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hardening his stance, an Israeli source has told the Israeli news site Walla, according to The Times of Israel.
Netanyahu has delayed the release of over 600 Palestinians who were supposed to be freed from Israeli jails in exchange for six Israeli hostages released by Hamas on Saturday.
Netanyahu said he postponed the release over Hamas’s “humiliating” handover ceremonies. Under the agreement, Hamas is due to release four bodies of Israeli hostages on Thursday, the last release under the first phase of the ceasefire deal.
The Israeli source speaking to Walla said that Hamas agreed that the release of the four bodies could be done in private without any ceremony. But Netanyahu has hardened his stance further, informing mediators that Hamas’s commitment was not enough and that Israel would only release the more than 600 Palestinians once it received the bodies.
“Unfortunately, there are people in the government who are more interested in Hamas’s ceremonies than they are in returning civilians for burial in Israel,” the Israeli official said.
The first phase of the ceasefire will expire this Saturday, March 1, and Israel has refused to engage in real negotiations on the second phase. The US, which has backed Netanyahu’s decision to delay the release of Palestinians, is now suggesting phase one could be extended.
Under the initial deal, all remaining Israeli hostages were supposed to be released in phase two in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Hamas recently offered to release all Israeli captives “in one go” if Israel agreed to a permanent ceasefire and complete withdrawal, but Netanyahu is now demanding Hamas be disarmed and removed from Gaza.
Israel has also been violating the ceasefire deal since it went into effect on January 19, killing more than 100 Palestinians in that time.