Cabinet meeting on hostage deal delayed for final details from Qatar, and as PM waits to hear if Smotrich will resign — report

16 January 2025, 10:32 am

6 Edit

A security cabinet meeting on approving the hostage-ceasefire deal has been delayed until later today, Hebrew media reports, as negotiators in Qatar are said to be working on ironing out the final details of the agreement.

According to the Kan public broadcaster, the cabinet meeting, which was expected to take place at 11 a.m., has also been delayed by the Religious Zionism party’s ongoing deliberations about its future in the governing coalition.

The report adds that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not convene the cabinet until Religious Zionism chair Bezalel Smotrich gives him an answer as to whether or not his party will resign in protest.