Moshe Gafni
Moshe GafniOlivier Fitoussi/Flash 90

MK Moshe Gafni, chairman of the haredi Degel Hatorah Party, on Saturday night condemned the statement which was released by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday night, after the start of Shabbat.

In the statement, Netanyahu issued an update to the public about the status of the negotiations for the release of the hostages held by the terrorist organizations in Gaza.

"I condemn the announcement of the Prime Minister's Office on Friday night, which did not contain any semblance of pikuach nefesh (preservation of human life)," Gafni wrote. "I condemn it entirely, it was a completely unnecessary statement issued while desecrating Shabbat."

The statement which was distributed to the media on Friday night came amid reports of progress in the negotiations on a hostage release deal.

“The head of the Mossad recently returned from Doha from an initial meeting with the mediators. It was determined that a team will depart next week to continue the negotiations. It should be emphasized that there are still gaps between the parties,” the statement said.

The haredi parties previously criticized Netanyahu when he responded during Shabbat to a decision by the Moody’s credit rating agency to downgrade Israel’s credit rating.

"The Prime Minister's statement on Shabbat regarding the credit rating was out of place," Construction and Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf said at the time, adding, "This is not a case of Pikuach Nefesh (preservation of human life), nor an emergency issue, nor a response that could not have been published at the conclusion of Shabbat."