Despite the threats issued by the extreme Israeli ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who warned of bringing down the government led by Benjamin Netanyahu if U.S. President Joe Biden's plan for a ceasefire in Gaza and a prisoner exchange with Hamas is approved, Israeli President Isaac Herzog pledged support for Netanyahu. He promised to assist the embattled Prime Minister in achieving the prisoner exchange deal and implementing Biden's plan.
In statements made today, Sunday, he said that "the state is responsible for bringing back the captives at any cost as part of a deal that would protect Israel's security interests." Herzog's position came just hours after opposition leader Yair Lapid called for the plan's implementation and not to backtrack on the proposed prisoner exchange deal, which he regarded as a last opportunity to save the Israeli captives in Gaza following Hamas's attack on military bases and Israeli settlements in the Gaza vicinity.
This was also following comments from Netanyahu's political advisor, Ofir Haik, in an interview with the British newspaper "Sunday Times," revealing that Israel had accepted Biden's plan. He mentioned that this plan is not new, as it was previously presented by Tel Aviv. However, he noted that many aspects of it still require clarification, affirming "the government's commitment to eliminating Hamas," describing the plan as neither ideal nor good enough, but sufficient to potentially secure the release of all Israeli captives in the region. Netanyahu is facing intense internal pressure regarding the matter of the captives and the ceasefire in Gaza, which has been devastated.
