Rejecting Release Of Palestinian Prisoners, Israeli Right Wing Minister: Hundreds Of Soldiers Died Not Goats

Israeli National Security Minister Itaman Ben-Gvir. (Twitter/@itamarbengvir)

JAKARTA - Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir warned he would not agree to a hostage release agreement with Hamas that includes a broad concession to the militant group, following reports of recent proposals stating that include the release of thousands of imprisoned Palestinian prisoners, including senior militant groups.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied the report and vowed not to release "OUSts of prisoners."

Not sure, Ben Gvir, used a common Hebrew expression for something very unpleasant that was put into the proposal to make others look better, saying the reported numbers "seem to be a 'goat' clause, which is meant to lay the groundwork for a deal that is not too bad, but still.

"I want to say clearly: the prime minister, the hundreds of soldiers who died were not goats, the people in the south were not goats, the Israelis were not goats and I was not goats," he said in Knesset (Israel parliament), reported The Times of Israel January 31.

"We will not allow a deal that would mean victory for Hamas and perpetuate terror. More than 500 soldiers were not killed in vain. We will not allow the release of thousands of prisoners from prison," he said.

As previously reported, militant group Hamas said Tuesday it had accepted and would study new ceasefire proposals as well as the release of hostages in Gaza, filed by mediators after talks with Israel.

A senior Hamas official told Reuters the proposal involved a three-stage ceasefire, in which the group would first release the remaining civilians among the hostages they captured on October 7, then the soldiers and the last hostages were killed.

The ceasefire proposal follows talks in Paris involving intelligence chiefs from Israel, the United States, and Egypt, with Qatar's prime minister.

As a sign of the seriousness of the negotiations, Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh said he would go to Cairo to discuss it.

Haniyeh said he was studying the ceasefire proposal. Hamas' priority is ending the Israeli attack and securing the full troop withdrawal, he said.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated his oath not to withdraw troops from Gaza until a "total victory".

"We will not compromise if we do not achieve a total victory," he said.

"That means eliminating Hamas, returning all of our hostages and ensuring Gaza is no longer a threat to Israel."

Until then, no Palestinian prisoners will be released from Israeli prisons, Prime Minister Netanyahu said.

In response, Sami Abu Zuhri, another senior Hamas official, said PM Netanyahu's comments "proved he was not interested in the success of the Paris meeting and did not care about the lives of hostages (Israel)".