Former IDF chief of staff and Yashar party chair Gadi Eisenkot said Saturday evening that Israel should have accepted a deal that would return all hostages, even if it meant allowing Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and his men to leave for Qatar, a full IDF withdrawal from Gaza, and handing the territory to a Palestinian government.
Former IDF chief of staff and Yashar party chair Gadi Eisenkot said Saturday evening that Israel should have signed a deal to return all hostages, even if it meant allowing Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and his men to leave for Qatar, a full IDF withdrawal from Gaza, and transfer of the territory to a Palestinian government.
The statement adds to the ongoing public debate over the terms of a potential hostage deal. As The Zioneer reported on June 29, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told senior IDF commanders that the same framework—a full withdrawal in exchange for all hostages—would have been an 'enormous defeat' for Israel. Eisenkot's position represents a sharply different assessment of what Israel should have accepted.
- DevelopingFormer IDF chief Eisenkot tours Gaza border, meets freed hostage Doron Steinbrecher
- DevelopingEisenkot: We haven't finished the Gaza mission, must topple Hamas regime
- DevelopingSmotrich: Surrendering to Eisenkot would have left Hamas on the fence of communities
- DevelopingEisenkot tells i24NEWS he aims for broadest possible coalition government
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