Israel’s National Security Minister warned Tuesday that a possible deal with the Islamist group Hamas to secure the release of Israeli hostages could lead to “a disaster.”
“I am very concerned because talks are taking place and we are being left out. We don’t know the details and they are not telling us the truth. Rumors indicate that Israel may be making a mistake again similar to the Shalit deal.” said far-right minister Ben Gvir.
Gvir was referring to the release of soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for the release of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in 2011.
The Israeli minister expressed concern about a pact that could involve the release of Palestinian prisoners and the possibility of fuel entering the Gaza Strip, which they strongly oppose.
For her part, the mother of two minors kidnapped by Hamas and detained in the Gaza Strip said that “the opportunity to move forward with this agreement cannot be lost,” during a protest in front of the Israeli army headquarters in the city of Tel Aviv.
The woman, identified as Hadas Calderón, recalled that two of her children, ages 12 and 16, were kidnapped along with her ex-husband during the Hamas attacks on Israeli soil on October 7.
“I ask all mothers to come and join me. We have to bring them home,” Hadas Calderón said, quoted by The Times of Israel.
On Monday, relatives of the approximately 240 kidnapped people warned that the bill to apply the death penalty to people convicted of terrorism – presented by Ben Gvir himself – “puts the hostages in serious danger.”
The Hostage Families Forum stated that “the death penalty is a sensitive issue that should be discussed in a private and professional context.”
“The timing chosen for this debate endangers members of our family, without actively promoting the public interest,” warned the organization, created after the Hamas attacks.
Ben Gvir announced on Saturday that he would present this project to the Knesset that same day.
The far-right minister had already openly chosen in January to include the death penalty in Israeli legislation for people convicted of terrorism.
“Anyone who murders, wounds or kills civilians should be sent to the electric chair,” Ben Gvir said.
Source: TSF
