Israeli Parliament members sign petition for hostage exchange

According to a report by the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, a group of young people from the families of Israeli hostages arrived at the Parliament building to persuade lawmakers to sign a campaign demanding that the Netanyahu government approve the deal for the release of their relatives.

The report noted that the young people have managed to collect signatures from 70 members of parliament so far and will continue their efforts today with the goal of obtaining signatures from 100 out of the total 120 members.

The report stated that all members of some parties have signed the campaign, expressing "full support" for the deal. It was noted that the parties that signed the campaign include the National Unity party led by War Cabinet member Benny Gantz (8), coalition partner Shas (11), United Torah Judaism (7), Yesh Atid led by Yair Lapid (24), the Joint List (5), the Arab Movement for Change (5), and the Labor Party (4).

The report indicated that some members of the Religious Zionism party led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (7), Yisrael Beiteinu led by Avigdor Lieberman (6), and the Likud party led by Netanyahu (32) have expressed their support for the deal, while others have offered "limited support." It was also reported that the only party that refused to support the deal is Otzma Yehudit, led by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, which holds 5 seats in Parliament.

In their statement, the group of young people said that this step represents a moment of unity in Parliament, as representatives from a wide variety of parties and sectors are supporting the move aimed at releasing the hostages and bringing them home.

The statement, which also published the names of Likud members whose support for the deal was described as "significant," pointed out that these names include Minister of Agriculture Avi Dichter, Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology Gila Gamliel, Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz, Minister of Transport Miri Regev, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, and coalition chairman in the Knesset Ofir Katz.

News Source: AA