Israeli PM given last hostages a 'death sentence'

Netanyahu 'sacrificing them for his own political survival, claims ex-negotiator

- CHRIS HUGHES

A FORMER Israeli hostage negotiator claims Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sentenced the remaining hostages held in Gaza to death.

Gershon Baskin, who played a key role in the 2011 release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit after five years, said: "Let it be clear that Netanyahu has sentenced the hostages to death."

Outspoken critic Baskin says Netanyahu's decision to keep Israeli troops in Gaza's notorious Philadelphi corridor, bordering Egypt, means Israel will occupy the strip for years.