The relatives of the Gaza hostages and the mediators demand that the Israeli government approve the ceasefire plan

The platform representing the relatives of Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip demanded last Saturday that Israeli authorities approve the ceasefire plan announced on Friday by US President Joe Biden.

The group, which organized demonstrations every week on Saturday evening to demand an agreement that would allow the release of the kidnapped people, “will contact all members of the (War) Cabinet, the government and the the Knesset (parliament), and will demand this immediate approval of the plan” a short statement said.

He plan announced by BidenAlready brokered by Qatar to Hamas, it is considering three phases in which several exchanges of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners would take place, while troops gradually withdraw from the enclave and a reconstruction plan is launched.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed it has given its negotiators permission to submit a draft ceasefire to Hamas to free the kidnapped, but made clear the war will not end. until Israel achieves its military objectiveswhich entails the total elimination of Hamas’ “military and government capabilities” in Gaza.

The Islamist group, in turn, said it sees it “positive” the ceasefire proposal regarding a final ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the enclave, the reconstruction of Gaza and the exchange of prisoners, and assured that he was ready to deal constructively with any plan that includes these points.

Demonstrations

Overnight, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in several cities across the country, and especially in Tel Aviv, to demand an agreement that would allow the release of the hostages, in addition to Netanyahu’s resignation and early retirement elections.

Organizers assured that they managed to gather around 120,000 people in Tel Aviv, which would make it the largest demonstration in the country since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7.

International mediators

For their part, the authorities of United States, Egypt and Qatar This Saturday, they urged the government of Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) to work toward an agreement on the foundations of the “road map” presented by US President Joe Biden a day earlier.

“As mediators in ongoing discussions to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages and prisoners, the United States, Egypt and Qatar jointly call on both Hamas and Israel to finalize the agreement that principles that President Biden outlined on May 31 are included. 2024,” read a joint statement from the US Department of State.

The three countries that signed the petition have emphasized that the principles of this plan “bring together the demands of all parties in an agreement that serves multiple interests” and assured that “it will bring immediate relief to both the suffering people of Gaza as to the hostages and their families”.

“This agreement provides a roadmap for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the crisis,” the statement concluded.

This statement comes after Joe Biden presented this Friday an Israeli-proposed ‘road map’ with three phases for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages held by Palestinian militias since December 7 last year.

Threat from the extreme right

The Israeli government’s two far-right ministers, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, threatened on Saturday to overthrow the executive branch if it accepts the ceasefire plan with Hamas announced by the United States on Friday.

Ben Gvir, Minister of National Security, far-right settler and leader of one of the main formations in Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government, Jewish Power, said that if the prime minister accepts the current ceasefire proposal, his party will “dissolve the government.”

“This is a promiscuous agreement that represents a victory for terrorism and a danger to the security of the State of Israel,” he said in a statement.