Israel-Hamas deal back on track, says head of Israel’s Shas Party

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The hostage deal with Hamas is on, Aryeh Deri, the chairman of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Shas Party who previously served as an observer on the War Cabinet, announced on Thursday night.

“A few minutes ago, I received the final word that all obstacles have been overcome and that the agreement is underway,” the Sephardic haredi politician declared in a speech at his party’s annual conference in Jerusalem. “Now they are working on the final technical wording.”

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“I want to congratulate Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu; he is responsible for the agreement,” Deri told attendees.

Minutes after Deri’s announcement, the Axios news outlet cited a U.S. government source as confirming that the final disputes holding up the ceasefire-for-hostages-and-terrorists-release deal were resolved, “and the agreement is now done.”

The Israeli Security Cabinet is now scheduled to meet on Friday morning to green-light the deal with Hamas, followed by a vote in the full Cabinet, an Israeli official told the Kan News public broadcaster. The agreement is still expected to go into effect at 12:15 p.m. Sunday, the official said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters during a press conference in Washington that the Biden administration likewise remains “confident” that the deal will be implemented on Sunday.

“I fully expect that implementation will begin, as we said, on Sunday. Look, it’s not exactly surprising that in a process, in a negotiation, that has been this challenging, this fraught, you may get a loose end,” he said.

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“We’re tying up that loose end as we speak; I’ve been on the phone, in one way or another, all morning with (U.S. National Security Council Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa) Brett McGurk, with our Qatari friends, and I am very confident this is moving forward,” Blinken said.

Earlier on Thursday, U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told NBC’s Meet the Press that the White House was aware of 11th-hour issues with the Hamas-Israel hostage agreement but remained confident that the ceasefire could still be implemented.

The Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem had accused the Palestinian terrorist organization of backtracking on parts of the deal signed on Wednesday, “in an effort to extort last-minute concessions.”

“We’re aware of these issues that the prime minister has raised today, this afternoon, their time, and we’re working through that,” the Biden administration official said of Netanyahu’s earlier announcement that Hamas reneged on parts of the agreement that was reached in Doha.

Thirty-three hostages, living and dead, out of the 98 held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza for 468 days are set to be freed during the first phase of the deal, in exchange for 1,000 Palestinian terrorists jailed by Israel. The 33 freed captives are to include nine ill and wounded hostages who will be released in exchange for the release of 110 Palestinian terrorists serving life sentences.

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The Israel Defence Forces is to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt. The withdrawal is to begin on the 42nd day of the first phase, after the release of the final (33rd) hostage for the phase, and is to be completed by the 50th day.

Israeli Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud Party, announced on Thursday night that he will resign from his position “if there is a withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor (before the war goals are achieved), or if we do not return to fighting to achieve the war goals.”

“This deal is difficult to digest and involves heavy prices. Therefore, as was the case with the previous vote, I will make my final decision only after the full details of the deal are presented,” Chikli wrote on X.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism Party previously signalled its seven Knesset members would consider exiting the coalition over the ceasefire deal.

Smotrich has demanded that Netanyahu commit to resuming the war to dismantle Hamas and secure the release of all hostages following the deal’s first phase. This commitment is a condition for the party’s continued presence in the government and coalition

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