On the eve of promoting the deal for the release of the kidnapped, earlier (Wednesday) Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with family members of captives still in the hands of Hamas terrorists and emphasized that he is committed to bringing all of them, as many of them as possible, alive.
Prime Minister Netanyahu at Mochinat Ali: "We will not release thousands of terrorists" // Video: Itay Beit-On /L.A.M., Sound: Yehezkel Kandil /L.A.M.
Netanyahu said that he could not comment on the details of the negotiations and any timetable on the grounds that it was harmful to the negotiations and even refused to comment on the Qatari and American claims that the Israeli government was stalling the deal.
"Of course a 'good' deal will be accepted"
Despite the claims of his coalition partners against the deal being forged, Netanyahu assured the families that "as soon as we have to close the deal, no political obstacle will stop it."
The families of the abductees protest in Tel Aviv, photo: Reuters
According to details obtained by Israel Hayom, Netanyahu said in the conversation that "if there is a 'good' deal on the table, of course it will be accepted", and again emphasized the importance of military pressure on Hamas and political pressure on Qatar.
Netanyahu also said that the return of the abductees must be carried out in stages as part of a deal.
Later in the conversation, Netanyahu accused that the media climate gives Hamas a huge advantage.
As for the saga of bringing medicine to the abductees and the fact that Israel brought medicine into Gaza but the payment did not arrive, Netanyahu said that "in Israel they do not give up on bringing medicine".
Aid trucks in Kerem Shalom, photo: AFP
Netanyahu added that "the first ceasefire did not give Hamas an opportunity to hide hostages better."
And he reiterated that "a deal should not be closed 'at any cost'".
The prime minister told the families that the increasing pressures on Hamas and Qatar prove that the terrorist organization has actually retreated from their initial positions.
Regarding the urgency of returning the abductees, Netanyahu said: "It is impossible to achieve one goal at the cost of harming other goals - the destruction of Hamas and the demilitarization of the Strip."
Earlier, Netanyahu met with a delegation of UN ambassadors visiting Israel, and said that "the time has come for the international community and the UN itself to understand that UNRWA's mission must be ended." He also emphasized that "there are other UN agencies in the world."
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