2023-11-23T14:56:28+00:00
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/ An American report revealed, on Thursday, details of the Israeli approval of the ceasefire truce in the Gaza Strip, noting that it came after a “week-long conflict between civilian and military leaders” in the country.
The conflict is due to disagreements between Israeli leaders over “whether such a deal would strengthen Hamas and endanger the remaining hostages,” according to the American New York Times.
Hamas and other Palestinian factions have been holding 240 people hostage in the Gaza Strip since the attack it launched on Israel on October 7. Since then, Israel has responded with a devastating bombing of the Gaza Strip, killing 14,128 people, including women and children, according to the latest statistics from the health authorities there.
According to the New York Times, “a group of leaders, including Defense Minister Yoav Galant, sought to delay” the ceasefire and the release of 50 hostages kidnapped by Hamas in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners in Israel, due to “fear that this would slow down “The momentum of the Israeli military campaign, allowing Hamas to regroup and divert international attention from the rest of the kidnapped.”
On the other hand, another group of Israeli leaders, including the head of the Mossad, David Barnea, who led the negotiations on behalf of Israel, stated that “the deal is better than nothing, and that the military campaign can continue after the short ceasefire,” according to four senior officials. The security personnel spoke to the American newspaper without revealing their identity. Because they are not authorized to speak to the media.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli army and Mossad – Israel’s foreign intelligence agency – declined to comment to The New York Times. The first group initially had the upper hand, convincing Netanyahu to postpone the cabinet vote, which was scheduled for November 14, according to three of the officials.
The first group expressed “the hope that more military pressure will give Israel more influence at the negotiating table, allowing more hostages to be released.”
But the second group eventually won, prompting Netanyahu to hold an early vote on Wednesday, paving the way for a four-day truce and a kidnapping-for-prisoner exchange deal.
A senior defense official from the first group said, “Its members changed their minds because the conditions that Israel was able to obtain in the signed deal were much better than those that existed a week ago.”