Egypt Daily News – An Israeli official said that the cabinet is scheduled to meet tomorrow morning, Friday, to vote on the ceasefire and prisoners agreement.
The Cabinet meeting comes one day after the date initially scheduled for its holding, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stated that last-minute obstacles were still being resolved at the negotiating table in Doha.
The decision of the cabinet meeting on Friday indicates that these outstanding issues have been resolved. Earlier, the cabinet meeting was postponed indefinitely, and thus the Israeli government meeting as well.
Israeli and British reports said that the main dispute that still exists now between Israel and Hamas revolves around the identity of the Palestinian prisoners who will be released – including prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment.
According to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, the two sides are arguing over who are defined as “symbols” – the prisoners whom Hamas has a great interest in releasing, and whom Tel Aviv does not want to include in the deal. There is also another debate surrounding the Philadelphi corridor.
Subsequently, Shas party leader Aryeh Deri announced, at the annual Shas conference in Jerusalem, that he had been informed that all obstacles to the exchange deal had been overcome, and that the deal was underway, noting that “the two parties are now busy with the final technical drafting.”
