New York 18 January 2025 by Elisabeth Taylor
a very long day of negotiations and exhausting meetings ended only at 1:00 AM between Friday and Saturday with the approval by the Israeli government of the agreement signed in Doha on the ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the hostages.
After seven hours of discussions, the Israeli Prime Minister's office announced that the plan was voted on and will come into force on Sunday, January 19.
And he concluded the note by wishing Shabbat Shalom, a happy Saturday.
Israeli media reported that 24 ministers voted in favor and eight against. The security cabinet had previously voted in favor, with the only votes against being from the two far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, as well as David Amsalem of the Likud, the prime minister's own party. The government's hostage unit notified the families concerned that their loved ones are among the 33 kidnapped people who are expected to be freed in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, which will last 42 days and begin on Sunday at 4 p.m. local time (3 p.m. GMT), after the truce begins at 12:15 p.m. (11:15 a.m.). The list includes women, children, the elderly and the infirm; all the names have been made public. However, Hamas has not told Israel how many of the 33 are still alive, although it is estimated that most of this group are. Jerusalem, according to the agreement, will receive a full status report on all those on the list seven days after the ceasefire begins.
The order of release is not yet known. The identities of those scheduled to return are expected to be provided 24 hours before each release. Hamas will announce the names of the first three hostages to return home on Saturday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the cabinet meeting that Israel "has received unequivocal assurances from both US presidents, both Joe Biden and Donald Trump, that if negotiations on phase two of the agreement fail and Hamas does not accept the security demands, the IDF will return to intense fighting in Gaza with the support of the United States." A warning and a reassurance for the far-right, which is strongly opposed to the agreement. Also lending Bibi a hand in this game that is essentially already decided but with a bumpy path, Defense Minister Israel Katz intervened with a decision that sparked a strong protest from the Shin Bet: the cancellation of all administrative detention orders against Israeli settlers due to the "planned release of terrorists in the West Bank", as part of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza. As the minister's office itself announced, explaining that the decision is intended to "send a clear message of support and encouragement to the settlement project, which is at the forefront of the fight against Palestinian terrorism. It is better for the families of Jewish settlers to be happy than for those of released terrorists".
In short, the agreement was made, but without neglecting the requests of religious and right-wing parties. All this, however, was not enough to convince Ben Gvir who, before the vote, launched a final appeal to ministers to vote against the agreement with Hamas, saying he was "terrified" by the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for hostages: "Everyone knows that these terrorists will try to kill again". But reassuring his friend Bibi: "I love Netanyahu. We will not overthrow this government and we will support it from the outside". Meanwhile, a copy of the agreement leaked to the Israeli media shows that in exchange for the release of 33 kidnapped in the first phase of the plan, over 1,700 Palestinian prisoners will be freed: 700 terrorists, of whom 250-300 are serving life sentences; 1,000 citizens of Gaza captured since 8 October during the fighting in the Strip; and 47 prisoners re-arrested after being released in the exchange for soldier Gilad Shalit (held captive for 5.5 years in Gaza) in 2011. After the cabinet meeting, the Justice Ministry published the list of Palestinian prisoners scheduled for release in the first round, at 4 p.m. Sunday: there are 95, most of them women, and only one, under the age of 18, convicted of murder. Palestinian parliamentarian and deputy Khalida Jarrar is also on the list. All have been arrested since 2020. In addition to the 33 who will be released in the first phase, another 65 hostages remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 36 confirmed dead by the IDF.
As the first phase progresses, the parties will hold talks on the second, which would see the release of all remaining kidnapped prisoners in exchange for an end to the war and agreements on the future and reconstruction of Gaza. Palestinian Authority President Abbas said that after the agreement is implemented, "the PA will assume full responsibility in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian government has completed all preparations and the security teams are fully prepared to carry out any task." Netanyahu has so far refused to consider this possibility, despite US pressure, and without offering alternatives.
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