Israeli settlers protest, urge completion of captive exchange
Settlers gather in Tel Aviv to demand the completion of the prisoner exchange agreement and the return of all captives from the Gaza Strip.
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A settler demonstration in Tel Aviv to demand the completion of the exchange deal with the Palestinian resistance, February 8, 2025 (AFP)
Illegal Israeli settlers gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday to demand the completion of all phases of the prisoner exchange agreement with the Palestinian Resistance.
This comes as concerns mount, particularly among the families of captives still in Gaza, regarding their government's potential incompletion of the captive exchange, endangering the lives of their kin.
These demonstrations coincide with the start of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement and ongoing negotiations. Meanwhile, Netanyahu has proposed "modifications to the deal’s terms" in a plan he presented to US President Donald Trump.
Netanyahu’s plan for the second phase includes a proposal that senior Hamas leaders in Gaza relinquish power and leave the territory.
Netanyahu blamed for captives' poor health
Moreover, earlier today, former Israeli Security Minister Yoav Gallant called for the return of all captives following the fifth batch of exchange.
However, he blasted the Israeli occupation for recognizing the dangers and "alarming conditions" that had been facing the captives during the Israeli war on Gaza, but not prioritizing their lives.
"The shocking images the world was exposed to today illustrate the dire and alarming condition of some of the abductees, and the deterioration of their health, which has been known to Israel for a long time," he said in a post on X.
Netanyahu and several ministers said they were "shocked" by the captives' health condition. However, opposition leader Yair Lapid criticized the prime minister, asking, "Were you not aware of their condition before?"
Lapid asserted that details about the captives' health were "documented in intelligence reports placed on Netanyahu's desk in recent months." Addressing the prime minister, he added, "You saw these reports just as I did."
For its part, Hamas stated after the handover that the Resistance had "adhered to humanitarian values and the principles of international humanitarian law in its treatment of the captives and made significant efforts to preserve their lives despite Israeli bombardment and Netanyahu's attempts to target and eliminate them."
'Israel' jeopardizing Gaza ceasefire preservation: Hamas
The Israeli occupation's non-commitment to the ceasefire agreement in Gaza threatens its collapse, a senior Hamas official stated, as reported by AFP.
According to Basem Naim, a member of Hamas' political bureau, "Israel's procrastination and lack of commitment in implementing the first phase... certainly exposes this agreement to danger and thus it may stop or collapse."
Consequently, Naim relayed Hamas' aversion to renewing the war with "Israel", saying it was "certainly not our wish nor our decision."
Read more: Gazans to confront displacement; US must be isolated: Exclusive