Eight Likud MKs tell PM they won’t back hostage deal proposal in its current form – report

Eight Likud lawmakers have said that they will refuse to back the hostage deal being discussed by Israel and Hamas in indirect negotiations unless significant changes are made to the proposal, Channel 12 reports.

According to the report, the lawmakers sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a set of demands for changes that they said must be made, if they are to support the deal.

The letter was signed by Likud MKs Amit Halevi, Hanoch Milwidsky, Dan Illouz, Moshe Saada, Ariel Kellner, Shalom Danino, Tally Gotliv, and Nisim Vaturi.

The list of reported demands set forth by the lawmakers includes the following stipulations:

• All hostages are to be released at once, rather than in several stages
• Israel must not withdraw from the Netzarim Corridor or the so-called Philadelphi Corridor
• There must be a significant IDF presence along every significant route in Gaza

The lawmakers were reported to have also made several additional demands, which were not expanded on in the report.

While Netanyahu himself has added several “non-negotiable” demands to the hostage deal in recent days, leading the negotiating team to reportedly pause talks until new clauses are drawn up, the Likud lawmakers were said by Channel 12 to believe his amendments still do not go far enough.