Seventy out of 120 members of the Israeli parliament have signed a petition signed by the families of Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip demanding that the government of Benjamin Netanyahu ratify the current agreement on the release of their relatives.
Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that a group of young people from the families of Israeli prisoners arrived at the Parliament building in order to persuade MPs to sign a petition demanding that the Netanyahu government ratify the agreement to release their relatives.
It was noted in the news report that the youth have so far managed to collect the signatures of 70 MPs on the campaign and will continue their work today with the goal of obtaining the signatures of 100 out of a total of 120 MPs.
In the news report, it was stated that some parties expressed their “full support” for the agreement by signing the campaign by all MPs, and the parties that signed the campaign were National Unity (8) led by War Cabinet member Benny Gantz, Shas (11), a coalition partner in the Israeli government, United Torah Judaism (7), There is a Future (24) led by Yair Lapid, the Joint Arab List (5), the Arab Change Front (5) and the Labor Party (4).
Some MPs gave “limited support”
Some MPs from Religious Zionism (7) led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Israel Our Home (6) led by Avigdro Lieberman and Likud (32) led by Netanyahu expressed support for the deal, while others expressed “limited support”, the report said, adding that the only party that refused to support the deal was Jewish Power, headed by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has 5 seats in Parliament.
In a statement, the youth group said that this step represented a moment of unity in Parliament, as representatives from a wide range of parties and sectors supported the step aimed at releasing prisoners and returning them to their homes.
The statement also published the names of Likud lawmakers whose support for the deal was described as “significant,” including Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter, Innovation, Science and Technology Minister Gila Gamliel, Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz, Transportation Minister Miri Regev, Defense Minister Yoav Galant, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, and the head of the coalition in Parliament, Ofir Katz.
