Shas party demands Netanyahu to be brave and strong and sign the prisoner deal with Hamas

Israel’s religious Shas party said Wednesday that now is the right time to sign a prisoner swap deal with Hamas, urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not be afraid of opponents of the deal within the ruling coalition.

This came in a letter sent by the ultra-Orthodox party, which has 11 seats in the Israeli parliament out of 120, to Netanyahu, according to Israel Today newspaper.

In the letter, the party addressed Netanyahu, saying, “Shas commends your hands in your efforts to bring back our abducted brothers and sisters, and in leading the deal, which is currently in the advanced negotiation stage”.

“We believe that the circumstances that have now arisen after welcome military pressure and concentrated assassinations make it timely to reach a deal that preserves Israel’s vital security interests and repatriates the abductees”.

Shas urges you not to be afraid of coalition voices opposing the deal, and supports you to continue to act responsibly towards the will of redemption of captives, of which nothing is more important.

On more than one occasion, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, head of the Jewish Power party (6 seats in the Knesset) and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, head of the Religious Zionism Party (6 seats), have threatened to bring down Netanyahu’s government if the deal proposal announced by US President Joe Biden, which includes stopping the war, is accepted.

In his letter to Netanyahu, Shas continued, “We congratulate you on your important prospective trip to the United States to faithfully represent the position of Israel at this important stage… We’re confident that this journey will greatly help drive the signing and finalization of the transaction soon”.

Shas party urged Netanyahu to be strong and courageous in dealing with the deal.

On Sunday, for the first time since the formation of his current government in December, 2022, Netanyahu is scheduled to visit Washington.

Next Monday, Netanyahu will meet Biden in Washington and address the US Congress two days later, according to Haaretz newspaper.

The current government coalition has the support of 64 Knesset members, and if the Ben Gvir and Smotrich parties withdraw, the government will fall, which must have the support of at least 61 deputies.

But opposition leader Yair Lapid, head of the Yesh Atid party (24 seats), has repeatedly stressed his willingness to offer Netanyahu a safety net in the Knesset to conclude a prisoner swap deal with Hamas and a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

At the beginning of June, US President Biden put forward the terms of the deal offered to him by the Israel to stop the fighting and release all abductees.

But Netanyahu added new conditions that Defense Minister Yoav Galant and Mossad chief David Barnea said were blocking a deal.

Among the conditions set by Netanyahu are preventing the return of Palestinian militants from the southern Gaza Strip to its north, searching returnees on the Netzarim axis set up by the Israeli army near Gaza City and separating the north from the south of the Strip, and the Israeli army remaining in the Philadelphia axis on the border between Gaza and Egypt, which announced the completion of its control on May 29.