Israel may approve a ceasefire with Hamas during a cabinet vote over the weekend, though some details still need to be ironed out, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won’t summon ministers until everything is final, a government official said.
Netanyahu had earlier accused Hamas of reneging on parts of the accord at the “last minute,” and he said that a vote couldn’t take place until mediators confirm that the militant Palestinian group has accepted all elements. That had cast uncertainty over the truce announced by the U.S. and Qatar on Wednesday, which aims to pause more than 15 months of fighting in Gaza starting on Sunday.
Aryeh Deri, the leader of Shas, an orthodox religious party that’s part of Netanyahu’s ruling coalition, said in Jerusalem that the obstacles have now been resolved and the deal is “about to set off.”