JERUSALEM

An Israeli opposition leader accused the government on Sunday of avoiding negotiations on the second phase of a Gaza ceasefire agreement, saying an end to the war will be a "political disaster" for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Israel had signed an agreement that was supposed to begin negotiations for the second phase on day 16 of the first phase. However, Israel has avoided these negotiations,” Yair Golan, leader of the Democrats Party, told Israeli daily Maariv.

“Now there is a Jewish adviser in Washington named Steve Witkoff who said, 'Let's see how we can get the cart out of the mud’,” he said, referring to the US Middle East envoy.

"Witkoff came up with some kind of outline, but it was expected that Hamas would reject it,” he said.

“Those who want to release the hostages need to understand a simple thing – we need to reach a long-term ceasefire and withdraw from most of Gaza,” Golan added.
The Israeli opposition leader said Netanyahu "wants the war to continue forever."

“Netanyahu is constantly looking for ways to keep all Israeli citizens under extraordinary pressure and in a state of emergency, as it serves his political needs,” he added.

Netanyahu "doesn’t care about the number of soldiers who die or the lives of the hostages. It simply doesn’t matter to him because his personal and political needs take precedence over everything else."

The first six-week phase of the ceasefire agreement, which took effect on Jan. 19, officially ended at midnight on Saturday. However, Israel has not agreed to move forward to the second phase of the deal to bring an end to the war in Gaza.

Netanyahu had sought to extend the initial exchange phase to secure the release of as many Israeli captives as possible without offering anything in return or fulfilling the military and humanitarian obligations of the agreement.

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas has refused to proceed under these conditions, insisting that Israel abide by the terms of the ceasefire and immediately start negotiations for the second phase, which includes a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a complete halt to the war.

The ceasefire agreement has halted Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed more than 48,380 victims, mostly women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.