Israeli PM 'has given hostages a death sentence'

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

- CHRIS HUGHES

A FORMER Israeli hostage negotiator claims that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sealed the fates of the remaining hostages held in Gaza.

Gershon Baskin, who played a key role in the 2011 release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit after five years of captivity, 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.