Politics Israel's security cabinet approves ceasefire in Gaza war
Israel's security cabinet has approved the agreement with Hamas for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners. This was announced by the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The agreement must still be approved by the entire Israeli government.
17.01.2025, 14:30
SDA
The security cabinet's decision was expected despite opposition from some far-right politicians. Only the far-right Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich voted against it, as reported by the Israeli news website "ynet".
The agreement still has to be approved by the larger government cabinet. Approval is also expected here. According to information from several Israeli media outlets, the government is due to meet shortly.
The public can still object to the deal
Opponents of the agreement can also still object to it. According to Israeli law, relatives of terror victims may object to the release of certain Palestinian prisoners. They have 24 hours after a government decision to file such a petition with the Supreme Court.
It is expected that the judges will see no reason for the Supreme Court to intervene against the government's decision to exchange Palestinian prisoners for hostages taken from Israel to the Gaza Strip as part of the deal.
Ceasefire to come into force on Sunday as planned
Reports had initially stated that the Netanyahu government would only meet on Saturday evening, after the end of the Jewish day of rest, Shabbat. This begins on Friday evening.
The later date had been criticized by relatives of the hostages held in the Gaza Strip, among others, as they fear a delay in the start of the ceasefire and thus also the release of the abductees.
The ceasefire is scheduled to begin on Sunday at 12.15 pm (11.15 am CET). Netanyahu's office announced that it could come into force as planned, provided the security cabinet and government agree. The first hostages are also expected to be released on Sunday. According to Israeli media, this could happen at 4 p.m. local time (3 p.m. CET).
Last obstacles to agreement removed
According to his office, Netanyahu had discussed security aspects and the implementation of the agreement with the negotiating team that had returned from Qatar before the security cabinet meeting.
The security cabinet was originally due to meet on Thursday morning. Netanyahu blamed Hamas for the delay. According to him, Hamas refused to agree to parts of the agreement. According to Israeli media, Hamas demanded the release of several prisoners whom Israel does not want to release due to the seriousness of their crimes.
During the night, Netanyahu's office finally announced that the last obstacles to an agreement had been removed. Israel's Prime Minister had been informed by his negotiating team that an agreement had been reached. Netanyahu had previously stated this as a condition for the Israeli cabinet to meet to approve the deal.
Opposition from far-right politicians
Israeli media also cited internal reasons for the postponement of the meeting. For example, the far-right Finance Minister Smotrich Netanyahu had initially not indicated whether his party would leave the government in protest against the planned agreement. According to reports, the two parties have since reached an agreement. The exact content of the agreement initially remained unclear.
Smotrich had previously demanded, among other things, that the fighting must continue after the first phase of the agreement. He and his party would vote against the deal, but would remain in the government, according to reports. Ben-Gvir had threatened to leave the government if it approved the deal.
Qatar had announced an agreement between Israel and Hamas on Wednesday evening. Israeli President Izchak Herzog then called on his country's security cabinet and government to approve the agreement with Hamas.
