Office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the negotiating teams of Israel and the Palestinian radical movement Hamas signed an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages in the Qatari city of Doha. A statement from Netanyahu’s office said the prime minister called on security cabinet meeting on Friday to vote on the deal with Hamas. This was reported by The Times of Israel (TOI) on Friday night, with reference to the TASR agency. The full Israeli government will meet only on Saturday evening, TOI added.
At the same time, Netanyahu’s spokesman pointed out that opponents of the agreement must have 24 hours to file a petition with the Supreme Courtso Friday afternoon’s security cabinet meeting will not give them enough time to do so: many of them are practicing believers and observe Shabbat, which begins on Friday after sundown.
TOI pointed out that the convening of the full cabinet on Saturday meant that the 24-hour period for filing the appeal would not end until Sunday evening. The newspaper assumes that the agreement will enter into force only on Monday – a day after the originally planned date. The first three hostages, who were supposed to be released on Sunday, will have to wait an extra day.
Relatives of the remaining 98 hostages were also notified of the possible release. In connection with this, Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed the relevant institutions to cooperate in preparations for the reception of prisoners who will be freed as part of the agreement. “The State of Israel is committed to achieving all the objectives of the war, including the return of all our hostages – living and dead,” Netanyahu’s office added.
