The ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip witnessed a dispute between Hamas and Israeli authorities after Israel backed off on allowing Gaza residents to return north, due to the failure to release the hostage Arbel Yehud.
After the release of the four Israeli prisoners, the office of the Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, issued an announcement: “Israel will not allow the passage of Gazans to the north of Gaza Strip, except after the release of Arbel Yehud, who was supposed to be released and will be released today.”
According to Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth, discussions on this issue took place on Friday night with Netanyahu and with the participation of the heads of the security services.
The Israeli newspaper indicated that the final decision was taken on Saturday morning in a lengthy assessment of the situation conducted by Netanyahu, where it was decided to keep the decision secret, so as not to obstruct the release of four female prisoners.
In addition, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported that there are contacts between Israel and mediators to release the prisoner Arbel Yehud before next Saturday, while the Israeli Authority reported Israeli officials as saying that they expect Yehud to be released in the coming days and even before next Saturday.
Who is Arbel Yehud?
According to the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, the family of the Israeli captive goes back to the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz.
On October 7, the family were in their apartment in the kibbutz, where the eldest daughter Arbel was taken from her apartment with her partner Ariel Konio, who is not included in the lists at this stage.
Arbel works as a space exploration and astronomy instructor in the Eshkol Regional Council in Gaza Strip envelope.
Ariel’s brother, David Konio, was also taken captive and is still being held by Hamas, while his wife Sharon and his two daughters Emma and Yuli were released in the first deal.
During the October 7 assault, Dolev Yehud, Arbel’s older brother, was killed. Israel did not know his fate until his body was found in Nir Oz and his remains were identified on June 3, 2024.
Reasons for the dispute
According to what Yedioth Ahronoth reported, on Friday, Israel had demanded that one of the released women be the civilian Arbel Yehud, according to the arrangement that stipulates the release of non-combatant women first.
However, Sky News Arabia indicated that a dispute emerged because the Palestinian resistance factions consider Arbel of the military while Israel says she is a civilian.
After the announcement by the office of the Israeli Prime Minister, a senior source in Hamas movement told Al Jazeera that, “The mediators informed us that Arbel Yehud is alive and will be released next Saturday.”
A source in the Islamic Jihad movement confirmed that she is a prisoner of the al-Quds Brigades as a military personnel, explaining that she is trained in the Israeli army’s space program.
He added: “Arbel Yehud will be released under the terms of the agreed exchange deal,” holding the Israeli government responsible for any obstruction of the terms of the deal.
