Hamas demanding last-minute changes, deal not yet final

Prime Minister’s Office says Israeli negotiators told to “stand firm” in the face of “last-minute extortion attempts” by Hamas.

By World Israel News Staff

The Hamas terror group is demanding last-minute concessions be added to the ceasefire and hostage deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a media statement.

Despite announcements from U.S. officials and the Qatari government that a deal had been reached, Netanyahu stressed that an agreement has not yet been finalized.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu held a conference call a short while ago with the negotiation team in Doha, who reported to him on last-minute attempts by Hamas to backtrack from the understandings of May 27,” read a statement from his office released in the early hours of Thursday morning.

“Among other things – contrary to a specific clause that grants Israel the veto power over the release of mass murderers who are symbols of terrorism – Hamas is demanding to dictate the identities of these terrorists. The prime minister instructed the negotiation team to stand firm on the agreed-upon understandings and to reject outright Hamas’s last-minute attempts at extortion,” the statement added.

Netanyahu has not yet invited the war cabinet to a meeting to vote on the deal. That meeting, which was expected to take place on Wednesday morning, has been delayed as negotiators in Qatar continue discussions.

Political considerations for the survival of the existing coalition may also be a reason behind the delayed vote.

The Religious Zionism party, led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, has expressed vehement opposition to the deal in its current form.

Zvi Sukkot, a Religious Zionism MK, said that the party would likely withdraw from the government if the deal is approved, which would trigger a new round of elections.

Opposition parties, including the Islamist Ra’am party, have pledged to vote in favor of the deal, all but guaranteeing it will be passed by the Knesset, even without the Religious Zionism party’s votes.