aide to israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu In an interview with the British “Sunday Times”, he said that Israel had agreed to the framework President Joe Biden’s Plan to end the war Gazaalthough he said it was “not a good deal.”
The deal has not yet been finalized, and Israel’s official position remains unclear. NBC News has reached out to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office for clarification.
Biden announced on Friday Israel has proposed a three-part plan that would eventually lead to a comprehensive ceasefire in the Middle East Gaza Strip,as well as release all hostages He has been held there for the past eight months. Biden said it was “time for this war to end.”
On Saturday, Netanyahu appeared to undermine that plan, issuing a statement saying a permanent ceasefire in Gaza was “impossible” unless conditions for a long-term ceasefire were agreed. war Reiterating that “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”.
Ofir Falk, Netanyahu’s chief foreign policy adviser, stressed in an interview with the Sunday Times that Israel had not rejected the deal, saying it was “a deal we agreed to – this is not A good deal, but we very much want the hostages released, all of them.
He added that Israel’s conditions “have not changed” – the release of hostages and the destruction of Hamas.
Biden’s plan redefines the end of the war, not by destroying Hamas, as Israel seeks, but by rendering a fallen Hamas “no longer capable” of launching a major attack on Israel like the militant group did on October 7. scale attack.
“Pursuing an indefinite war with an unclear total victory will only leave Israel stranded in Gaza,” Biden said.
The strong reaction from the far right within Netanyahu’s cabinet to Biden’s proposals exposed the domestic competitive pressures Netanyahu faces.
Finance Minister and Chairman of the far-right Religious Zionist Party Bezalel Smotrich said on X He “will not be part of a government that agrees to the proposed outline and ends the war without destroying Hamas”.
National Security Minister and leader of the far-right Jewish Power party Itamar Ben Gvir called the proposal a “triumph for terrorism”, agreed that the deal would be an “absolute failure” and threatened on X If Netanyahu agrees to the proposal, “dissolve the government.”
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said the threats from Ben Gvir and Smotrich “ignore national security, the hostages and the residents of the north and south.” Lapid had earlier pledged to support Netiyanahu against his far-right coalition partners if he accepted the deal.
“There is a deal on the table and it needs to be done,” Lapid said. “I remind Netanyahu that if Ben Gwire and Smotrich leave the government, he has our security network to handle the hostages. trade. on X.
“Netanyahu can’t be enthusiastic about a plan that doesn’t lead to ‘absolute victory,'” said Laura Blumenfield, a Middle East analyst at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington. “It doesn’t matter, as long as he One word to avoid: ‘No’.”
Meanwhile, international pressure on the United States continues to grow as Spain, France, Germany and Belgium each support the agreement. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Arab leaders on Saturday to reiterate their commitment to the ceasefire. Qatar, Egypt and the United States issued a joint statement supporting the peace plan.
A Hamas spokesman issued a statement shortly after the announcement, saying the group “viewed positively the content of U.S. President Joe Biden’s speech.”
The first phase of the plan includes a six-week complete ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from densely populated areas and the release of women and children held hostage. The second phase would see the release of all living hostages in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel, followed by major reconstruction in Gaza and, in the final phase, the return of the remains of deceased hostages to their families.
Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday night to urge the government to accept a ceasefire. In response to Biden’s announcement, the Hostage Families Forum, an Israeli group that advocates for the release of hostages taken in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, called on members of the Knesset to accept the deal.
“The Forum demands that all hostages be returned, some for recovery and others for burial, and that the opportunity to bring them home is not missed.”
About The Author
