Disputes in Israeli war cabinet over how to proceed with Gaza war

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
14 Dec 2023 07:17
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Top Israeli officials are engaged in heated arguments on whether to wait for signals from Hamas regarding a new prisoner exchange deal or find ways to continue the war on Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L), Security Minister Yoav Gallant and Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz speak during a news conference on Saturday, October 28, 2023 (AFP)

Israeli media outlets reported on an escalating disagreement within the Israeli war cabinet regarding the continuation of aggression on Gaza and negotiations with Hamas for the release of the remaining captives.

Reports cited prominent opposition figure Benny Gantz as saying that he believes that "Israel needs to find an opportunity to resume the operation," while cabinet member and Minister of Security Yoav Gallant, along with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, think they should wait for a signal from the Resistance group indicating its desire for another deal -- a signal that has not yet arrived.

Deputy Head of the Hamas Political Bureau, Saleh al-Arouri, declared on Wednesday the closure of the negotiation path on Israeli captives and the refusal to release any of them until the war stops.

In a press conerence, the Hamas senior official pledged that "the occupation will not succeed in liberating any alive prisoner by force, and their lives will be endangered."

Israeli media last week quoted an Israeli political source as saying that "Israel" is ready for additional temporary ceasefire deals and to start a new round of negotiations regarding the captives.

"The ball is in Hamas's court," the source was quoted as saying back then.

Since December 1, the occupation has resumed its aggression on the Gaza Strip after a temporary ceasefire that lasted about a week, during which an indirect prisoner exchange took place between "Israel" and the Palestinian Resistance.

No grasp of current reality

Earlier this week, the Foreign Affairs said in a report that the "total eradication of Hamas" is the goal of the ongoing genocide being perpetrated by "Israel" and funded by the US in the Gaza Strip, however, this goal "may be based on an understanding of the organization that does not take account of its current reality."

The report underscored that "despite a five-week onslaught" carried out by allegedly "one of the most powerful armies in the world", and despite the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands and the martyrdom of over 18,000 Palestinians, Hamas, and its military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, showed "few signs" they have been "eradicated" as hoped by Washington and "Tel Aviv".

"Not only has it [Hamas] managed to maintain itself; it has also asserted its autonomy from the organization’s outside leadership as well as its Arab allies and Iran, which was not warned of the attack," the newspaper added.