A day after President Biden called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and declared “it’s time to end this war,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Saturday that as long as Israel and Hamas reach a ceasefire , Israel will not agree to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
In his statement, Netanyahu did not explicitly endorse or reject the proposed ceasefire plan that Biden laid out in an unusually detailed speech on Friday. Two Israeli officials confirmed that Biden’s proposal is consistent with Israel’s ceasefire proposals approved by Israel’s war cabinet. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations.
But the timing of Netanyahu’s speech early the next morning seemed to give Biden hope for a quick resolution to the war, which has claimed the lives of more than 36,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health directorate.
“Israel’s conditions for ending the war have not changed: destroy Hamas’s military and governance capabilities, release all hostages and ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement released on Saturday morning.
Biden administration officials and some Israeli analysts said they believed Israel still supported the proposals Biden described on Friday, while Netanyahu’s statement on Saturday was more relevant to his domestic audience and aimed at managing members of his far-right Cabinet. , instead of fighting back against the White House. Mr Biden is eager for the war to be over, with just five months left before the US presidential election.
But Mr Netanyahu’s domestic political concerns may be the most important. On Saturday night, two of Mr Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, threatened to quit the government if he went ahead with the proposal . Mr Ben-Gweil called the terms of the deal a “complete failure” and a “triumph for terrorism”. If their parties all leave his coalition, it could mark the end of Netanyahu’s government.
Hamas immediately welcomed Biden’s Friday speech and expressed its willingness to “actively and constructively” deal with any agreement that meets its demands, including a complete Israeli withdrawal, a permanent ceasefire, the reconstruction of Gaza, the return of displaced Palestinians to their homes and Conduct a “serious prisoner exchange.”
The plan, as Mr. Biden has outlined it, does not specify who will rule Gaza after the war. Unless other arrangements are reached, Hamas is likely to take effective control of the territory, which the Palestinian armed group may consider a major strategic victory after nearly eight months of Israeli military offensive.
Israeli authorities said the armed group launched a devastating attack on October 7, killing 1,200 people in Israel and taking another 250 people hostage. They also said they would maintain “security control” of Gaza after the war, making a full withdrawal more difficult.
Mr Netanyahu has repeatedly promised the Israeli public “absolute victory” over Hamas, saying in April that such an outcome was only “one step away”. Nonetheless, Hamas militants have waged a tenacious guerrilla war against Israeli forces in Gaza, and Hamas’ top leaders have thwarted Israeli efforts to capture or assassinate them.
Israeli analysts said Biden’s speech was intended to bypass Netanyahu and make a direct appeal to the Israeli public, which generally supports the war effort, the investigation showed. They say that despite proposals from Israeli officials, including a commitment to a sustained ceasefire, Netanyahu faces a series of competing pressures at home that could cause his government to pivot.
“Biden is challenging Israel, saying: ‘I want you to allow this arrangement to continue. Don’t destroy it. Don’t pull the rug out from under it for political reasons,'” the former Israeli leader under Mr. Netanyahu said. National Security Advisor Uzi Arad said. “Put your money where your mouth is.”
The families of hostages held in the Gaza Strip called on the public to support the ceasefire agreement. People’s concerns about the fate of their loved ones are growing day by day, and a large number of people participated in demonstrations in Tel Aviv. Israeli authorities say about 125 of the approximately 250 hostages remain in Gaza, with more than 30 of them presumed dead.
Gil Dickmann, whose cousin Carmel Gat was kidnapped during the Oct. 7 massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri, led by Hamas, admits , for some Israeli people, this deal is difficult to accept. But he said it was crucial to reach an agreement to release the remaining hostages.
“If this deal doesn’t happen because of Hamas or because of Israel, we’re going to be in a forever war and we’re going to sink deeper and deeper into the quagmire, dragging down the Israelis, the Palestinians and, of course, the There are hostages. “It could be now or it could never be. “
However, if Netanyahu agrees to the deal, he may have difficulty maintaining his governing coalition. Some of his far-right coalition partners have said they may leave his government if they believe the war is ending prematurely. If Israel agrees to a truce that allows Hamas to retain power, even moderate Israelis may wonder what the Gaza offensive has accomplished.
Already, Mr Netanyahu’s emergency unity government is under threat: Rival Benny Gantz, who joined Mr Netanyahu as a wartime measure, has threatened to leave unless the prime minister spells out plans for post-war Gaza and sets a deadline in June Bring the hostages home by the 8th.
On Thursday, Dickman said he met with Israeli national security adviser Chachi Hanegbi and several other family members of the hostages. Dickman said Hanegbi told attendees that the Israeli government could not agree to a hostage release agreement that included an end to the war. Hanegby said earlier this week that he expected the fighting to continue for months.
Knesset opposition leader Yair Lapid urged Netanyahu to accept the deal outlined by President Biden. He reiterated that his party would provide Netanyahu with a “safety net” to prevent an overthrow if hard-liners such as National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir resigned over protests against the ceasefire. A vote of no confidence in the government.
Analysts say Mr Netanyahu has tried to avoid such a scenario because it would make him dependent on some of his harshest critics.
Israel and Hamas held their first week-long truce in late November, during which 105 hostages and 240 Palestinian prisoners were released. Since then, both sides have developed seemingly intractable positions: Hamas has made further hostage releases conditional on Israel ending the war, while Israel has vowed there will be no truce until Hamas is destroyed and the hostages are brought home.
Biden’s proposed ceasefire begins with a six-week cessation of hostilities, during which Hamas would release women, elderly and injured hostages it has held in Gaza since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on waging war. Israel. Israel will withdraw its troops from the main population center of Gaza, free at least hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and facilitate the entry of at least 600 humanitarian aid trucks per day.
In the first phase, hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinian civilians will return to their homes in northern Gaza for the first time in months. Israeli officials have said their troops will gradually withdraw, allowing for a largely unrestricted return should hostilities resume. They viewed the proposal as a concession to Hamas, which they believed could use the opportunity to reestablish a government in northern Gaza.
Biden said that in the second phase, Israel and Hamas will effectively declare that the war is over. Hamas will release remaining hostages, including male Israeli soldiers, in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, while Israeli troops will withdraw from Gaza. The third phase will be responsible for the reconstruction of Gaza and Hamas will return the bodies of the remaining dead hostages.
Gershon Baskin, an Israeli activist who helped negotiate the release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier held captive by Hamas for years, said in 2011 that the deal outlined by Biden emphasized the importance of establishing an alternative Palestinian government through plan to defeat Hamas politically.
“In the absence of any coherent ‘day after tomorrow’ plan to replace Hamas in Gaza, the bottom line is that accepting that plan would mean giving in to Hamas’s demands,” Mr. Baskin said, but he Still supports the agreement.
Biden acknowledged that “many details still need to be negotiated” in order to move forward with the second phase of the agreement – declaring a lasting ceasefire. He said Israel and Hamas would negotiate in the first phase to try to reach acceptable terms for a continued cessation of hostilities.
Zolan Kanno-Youngs contributed reporting from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
