The talks to reach a hostage release deal and cease-fire in Gaza are on the verge of collapse, the Qatari-owned Al Arabi news channel reported on Sunday quoting Egyptian sources. The sources blamed Israel and said that, if the government does not change its conduct, the talks will fail.
At the same time officials on the negotiating team told family members of hostages that there is a gap between them and the government. "While the negotiating team's professional view is that there must be a deal to return all of those held captive, dead or alive, the ministers insist on a partial deal that would see only some of the hostages freed," the officials said. "The team was sent without a mandate to negotiate an end to the war, despite the fact that it is the main demand of Hamas in exchange for all 100 hostages."
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צעדת מחאה בירושלים בסימן שנה לעסקת החטופים בהשתתפות משפחות חטופים
(צילום: אלכס קולומויסקי)
Protesters call for hostages to be freed
(Ido Erez, Ayelet Markowitz)
In their conversation with the families, the officials said they were instructed to remain silent about the negotiations while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made public statements to the foreign media, promising the war would not end.
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Shai Wenkert, whose son Omer was abducted from the Nova festival and has been held hostage for 450 days, told Ynet in an interview that the family believes a deal should have already been underway. "They've reached understandings a while ago. They say that the terms are right but for months they've been going back and forth," he said. "I have no doubt that the negotiations are tough, but I believe the sides should sit in a room until there is white smoke."
Omer suffers from colitis, a chronic illness that can be dangerous if not treated. "We've been worried sick for 450 days. I believe all hostages should be freed at once but if that is not the case, Omer is among those who should be freed in the humanitarian phase. In any event, it must be Israel that decides and not Hamas. There must be pressure on the mediators – Egypt and Qatar.