From the Liveblog of
Saturday, August 24, 2024
Speaking at hostage rally, Lapid calls on Netanyahu to ‘go to Cairo yourself’ to close deal
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Opposition leader Yair Lapid calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “go to Cairo yourself,” during a pro-hostage deal protest in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening.
“Prime minister, go to Cairo yourself, don’t send anybody. Close a deal now,” Lapid states.
A high-level Israeli delegation was in Cairo last week and Doha the previous week to discuss the latest offer for a deal with US, Egyptian and Qatari negotiators.
In an interview with The Times of Israel on Thursday, Lapid accused Netanyahu of stalling on a deal “to maintain the coalition.”
One of the sticking points of the talks has been Netanyahu’s insistence on an Israeli presence on the Gaza-Egyptian border.
Speaking with The Times of Israel on Thursday, Lapid said that “it is way more important to finalize the hostage deal” than to retain the so-called Philadelphi Corridor.
“The war started on October 7. He, as the prime minister, sent troops to the Philadelphi Corridor in May. That is almost eight months afterward,” he stated.
