Activists working to prevent any deal between Israel and Hamas that would see terrorists released have sent an urgent letter to the members of the security cabinet, in advance of this afternoon's meeting at which it is assumed the prisoner exchange deal will be discussed.
"We call on you to put an end to the continual foot-dragging, and to apply the principles of the Shamgar report," the letter reads.
"Don't agree to be partners to the authorization or even promotion of any deal that represents a surrender to terrorism, that turns the long arm of the security forces into a revolving door, pours fuel on the fire of terror, and endangers the lives of Israeli citizens," the activists wrote.
The Shamgar report was presented to the government in 2012 following the notorious deal that saw 1,027 prisoners released from Israeli prisons in return for Gilad Shalit. 405 of those released had blood on their hands, and 202 were subsequently rearrested for terrorism-related offences.
The report recommended that the responsibility for POW and MIA issues be transferred from the Prime Minister's Office to the Defense Ministry. It added that only a small number of prisoners should be exchanged for a live soldier, and that only dead prisoners should be exchanged for the remains of Israeli citizens.
In 2017, the family of fallen soldier Hadar Goldin released a statement in which they claimed to have received an explicit promise that no government headed by Binyamin Netanyahu would adopt the report "as long as there are soldiers and civilians in enemy hands."