Hebrew Reports: Netanyahu rejected army initiative to end Gaza war for prisoner deal
OCCUPIED QUDS, Sept. 06 (YPA) – The former Chief of Staff of the Israeli army, Herzi Halevi, proposed an initiative during his term to end the war on the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of all Israeli prisoners, according to a report by the Hebrew channel Kan. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected it, calling it a “political and military defeat.”
The channel reported that before the May 2024 ground offensive on Rafah, Halevi proposed a single-phase plan to secure the release of the prisoners and end the war. This was based on a concept developed by officers from the Operations Division and the Strategic Directorate of the military.
The plan’s proponents believed that starting the operation by freeing the prisoners would pave the way for completing operations against Hamas later on. However, the proposal was shelved without being formally presented at the negotiation table.
Kan explained that the army had prepared a multi-stage plan to free all living prisoners, but Netanyahu thwarted it. The channel added that in early September, he also later rejected demands from some of his ministers to put a partial agreement with Hamas, including a ceasefire and prisoner exchange, to a vote, stating, “There is no need for a vote; this is not on the agenda.”
According to the channel, paradoxically, some of the ministers who oppose any agreement, such as Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, were among those who demanded a discussion of the proposal. Meanwhile, the current Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir, supported moving forward with the agreement, believing that the recent military operation, “Gideon’s Vehicles,” provided a suitable environment for the recovery of prisoners, along with the need to rebuild the army’s capabilities.
In a separate investigation broadcast by Hebrew Channel 13, it was revealed that Netanyahu, along with Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, had obstructed at least five exchange deals in recent months. Testimonies from former officials confirmed that negotiation delegations were working without full authorization and that conditions were constantly changing with direct instructions from Netanyahu.
The investigation also cited former U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, who stated that Netanyahu was setting new conditions every time a deal was close to completion. Miller added that Netanyahu had told Washington he would continue the war “even if it lasted for decades.”
These leaks come as the Israeli government approved a new military plan targeting Gaza City, which includes calling up 60,000 reserve soldiers. This is happening amid increasing international warnings of an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe threatening more than two million Palestinians in the besieged strip.
YPA®