By Abdelraouf Arnaout
JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to attend a new round of negotiations in Egypt to reach a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap deal with Hamas.
“If Netanyahu is so convinced of his negotiating abilities, let him go to Egypt and sit there until he closes a deal,” Lapid said on X.
“This is what a responsible prime minister who cares about the lives of his citizens should do,” he added, asserting that “the only reason he doesn't do it is because he no longer has a soul.”
Egypt is set to host a new round of the Gaza cease-fire and prisoner exchange talks between Israel and Hamas this week.
Several Israeli parts have criticized Netanyahu for adding new conditions to a cease-fire proposal, which are likely to hinder reaching a deal, according to the Israeli public broadcasting KAN.
Netanyahu vowed on Tuesday that Israel will not, under any circumstances, leave Gaza’s corridors “despite the enormous pressure it is under to do so.”
The Philadelphi Corridor, a 14-kilometer (8.69-mile) demilitarized buffer zone along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, remains one of the major sticking points in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
For months, the US, Qatar and Egypt have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and cease-fire and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. But mediation efforts have been stalled due to Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’ demands to stop the war.
Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.
The onslaught has resulted in over 40,200 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and nearly 93,000 injuries, according to local health authorities.
The ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.
Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over one million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio