Netanyahu said to make new demands for hostage deal, officials worry he wants to torpedo it

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is demanding that any high-level Palestinian security prisoners released in a potential deal with Hamas be deported to Qatar as a condition of their release, Channel 12 reports.

According to the report, Netanyahu raised the demand during discussions by the war cabinet last night when Israel’s delegation to the Paris summit on a hostage-truce deal briefed ministers on their progress.

In addition, Ynet reports that Netanyahu also said in last night’s telephone consultations that he was not prepared to advance on the parameters of a deal until Israel receives a list specifying which of the 130 hostages held in Gaza since October are still alive.

Some officials have reportedly accused Netanyahu of trying to torpedo the nascent hostage deal in order to appease the far-right elements of his government.

“Netanyahu is not really interested in the deal,” an anonymous official tells Channel 12. “He is doing things to torpedo negotiations and revealing demands at the last minute.”

According to the official, the other members of the war cabinet, including observers Aryeh Deri and Ron Dermer, support the current outline for the hostage deal, leaving Netanyahu alone in his purported objections to it.