World

Cabinet meeting on Hamas demands delayed again, following Friday mishap – report

March 16, 2024
Bharat Times English News

The wartime cabinet is only expected to meet to discuss Hamas’s new demands for a hostage deal and come to a decision late Sunday evening, according to a Saturday post on X by army radio diplomatic correspondent Yanir Cozin.

According to the post, the small cabinet, which consists of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Minister-without-portfolio Benny Gantz, will meet at 6:00 p.m., and after an hour and a half, the meeting will extend to the larger general cabinet at 19:30.

Cozin also stated that as long as the cabinet doesn’t reach an official position, the Israeli delegation for the hostage deal talks cannot travel to Qatar, where the talks are being held.

This report follows an already delayed cabinet decision. The cabinet meeting on Hamas’s demands was adjourned early Friday because it was scheduled too close to the beginning of Shabbat.

Israelis gather in Tel Aviv for the release of Gaza hostages on November 25, 2023 (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV)

After the meeting was cut short, there were mixed reports about whether the cabinet would reconvene on Saturday night or Sunday morning.

The Prime Minister’s Office released a statement on Saturday, saying, “Prime Minister Netanyahu already announced yesterday that the War Cabinet and the Political-Security Cabinet will meet on Sunday to advise the negotiating delegation prior to its departure to Doha; therefore, the demand to convene the cabinet tonight is nothing more than an artificial attempt to garner headlines.”

PMO said update would be released on Saturday

Despite this statement, the prime minister’s official X account posted on Friday evening claiming that an update on the issue would be submitted to the smaller security cabinet on Saturday, followed by the war cabinet.