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The expected prisoner exchange deal between Tel Aviv and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has captured the attention of the Israeli media, amid a sharp division between the necessity of concluding it to recover prisoners detained in the Gaza Strip and a warning of its consequences.
Israeli media discussions showed an absolute rejection of the deal by the extreme right-wing forces led by Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, as they considered it a victory for Hamas and its leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.
In this context, Ben Gvir said during a Knesset session, “We will not allow a situation in which Hamas wins, and we will not allow a deal in which Hamas wins.”
In turn, Smotrich said, "Sinwar, who is now sitting in his fortified shelter, is watching you and saying, 'In this way I will achieve my goal... Israeli society has returned to disagreements and is disintegrating,' referring to the demonstrators' chants of 'Now...now' (release the prisoners), 'whatever the cost' and 'Stop.' the war".
He added, in the words of Sinwar, "The army is reducing the number of its forces and discharging its reserve soldiers. More of this, and after a short time, I will achieve victory and survive."
As for the voices welcoming the expected deal, they said that it is the only way to recover the prisoners detained in Gaza, and that it is Israel’s duty to bring them back alive because they were victims of the failure of the security and military services on the seventh of last October.
In this context, one of the guests of the Israeli Channel 13 pointed out that “the State of Israel should have prevented the occurrence of October 7th, and that there should be a different deployment of forces on the border with Gaza.”
It is noteworthy that the Israeli channel "Kan 11" revealed that among Hamas' demands to conclude the deal: the release of all activists from its elite units who participated in the October 7 attack, indicating that Israel has not yet taken any decision regarding the release of these fighters.
Source: Al Jazeera