Israel missed two truce opportunities in 2024 — former negotiator
"We did not do everything we could to bring them back as quickly as possible," former Israeli negotiator Oren Setter says.
Setter says that he wanted to "speak about facts" and argued that the deaths of hostages in captivity and "unnecessary suffering" could have been avoided while still placing primary responsibility for last year's negotiation. / Photo: AA
A former Israeli negotiator has said Israel missed two opportunities last year to secure a Gaza truce and hasten hostage releases, prompting a swift rebuttal from the premier's office.
"In my view, we missed two opportunities to sign an agreement... in March and July" last year, said Oren Setter, who resigned from the Israeli negotiating team in October, in remarks broadcast on Channel 12 on Saturday.
"We did not do everything we could to bring them back as quickly as possible."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been accused by Israeli opposition and families of hostages of not doing enough to secure their release and torpedoing talks, mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt, for his own political gain.
On Saturday, his office dismissed Setter's remarks, stating that "his claims that an agreement could have been reached earlier are entirely baseless."
"Had the prime minister not stood firm, at least half of the living hostages would not have been freed in the first phase," of an ongoing truce, the statement said.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu's steadfast stance, along with President Trump's threats, led to Hamas's capitulation, the release of our hostages, and the safeguarding of Israel's security interests," the statement added.
'Unnecessary suffering'
Hamas and Israel are currently implementing the first 42-day phase of a ceasefire that has paused Israeli genocidal war in Gaza.
Setter clarified that he wanted to "speak about facts" and argued that the deaths of hostages in captivity and "unnecessary suffering" could have been avoided while still placing primary responsibility for last year's negotiation.
The three-phase ceasefire deal took effect in Gaza on January 19, halting Israel's genocidal war, which has killed more than 48,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence 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.
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