Leaders in the Likud Party rule out that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will agree to a prisoner exchange deal with the Hamas movement, which is currently being negotiated, claiming that approving it would bring down the government, due to pressure exerted by Ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir against implementing the deal. .

Leaders in Likud and other sources in the political arena said that they are having difficulty seeing Netanyahu pushing the deal, which stipulates a ceasefire in Gaza, and against the position of Smotrich and Ben Gvir without dismantling the government, according to what Haaretz newspaper reported from them today, Sunday.

The newspaper added that Netanyahu has not yet clarified with the two extremist ministers the seriousness of their threat, because negotiations between Israel and Hamas are continuing at this time and have not yet been exhausted.

Estimates in the coalition parties indicate that the ultra-orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties will support the deal if it is agreed upon between the two sides, just as they supported a similar deal when it was proposed last month.

Netanyahu spoke with the head of the “National Camp” bloc, Benny Gantz, the day before yesterday, about the progress of communications regarding the deal, and the head of the Mossad, David Barnea, headed to Qatar.

A statement issued by the "National Camp" stated, "Gantz stated before the Prime Minister that the National Camp will provide full support for any responsible deal that leads to the return of kidnapped persons."

Gantz said after his conversation with Netanyahu, “Not everything is about you. But this time you must also show commitment, determination, and sincerity of intentions. You know as well as I do that since the previous proposal we have lost a large number of kidnapped people who died in captivity. This is not the time for ego games with the Minister of Defense.” (Yoav Galant), and time has run out for the kidnapped.”

The "Walla" website quoted the leader of the "National Camp", Gadi Eisenkot, as saying the day before yesterday, "We are in the closest place to a deal in the last nine months."

To my great regret, I have difficulty seeing Netanyahu rising to the level of leadership strategy and making a very difficult decision to stop the war, and telling Samotrich and Ben Gvir that this is the right decision. He knows that this will lead to the dismantling of the government. Netanyahu is shackled by personal and political necessities that overwhelm his ability to save the State of Israel.”