Thousands in Israel call for prisoner-hostage deal

JERUSALEM:

Thousands of Israelis took to the streets on Saturday, demanding a prisoner-hostage swap deal with Palestinian factions in Gaza.

Tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrated in central Tel Aviv’s Kaplan Square to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to finalize a prisoner-hostage swap deal, according to state broadcaster KAN.

Demonstrators threatened to intensify protests if no deal was reached within the next week, it said, adding that protesters chanted against Netanyahu and accused him of ignoring the lives of hostages in Gaza.

The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that “thousands of Israelis demonstrated in Haifa (north) and dozens of locations across the country, demanding a hostage exchange deal, a ceasefire and early elections to topple the Netanyahu government.”

Earlier, the families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza said Netanyahu was torpedoing a deal by setting new conditions.

Israel’s negotiating team informed Netanyahu on Saturday that there was “cautiously optimistic” about the possibility of moving forward with a deal.

The US, Egypt and Qatar presented a new proposal to Israel and Hamas aimed at closing remaining loopholes to facilitate the rapid implementation of the deal.

According to a joint statement, the discussions held over two days in the Qatari capital Doha were described as “serious and constructive” and held in a positive atmosphere.

While negotiators did not reveal the specifics of the new proposal, they said it was in line with the principles of a three-phase ceasefire plan outlined by US President Joe Biden on May 31, as well as Security Council Resolution 2735.

Israel, in defiance of a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued violent assault on Gaza following the October 7 attack last year by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.

The Israeli offensive has since killed more than 40,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured more than 92,400, according to local health authorities.

More than 10 months after the Israeli attack, vast swaths of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from war before its May 6 invasion. .