Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has responded to Hamas dropping its demand for Israel to commit to not resuming war before signing a U.S.-proposed ceasefire deal. Instead of seizing the opportunity for negotiations, Netanyahu issued four strict demands, including the right to resume fighting until Israel’s goals are met and preventing weapons smuggling to Hamas. This move has stirred controversy and accusations of sabotaging ceasefire talks, leading to protests across Israel demanding Netanyahu accept a hostage exchange deal. The situation remains tense, with critics questioning Netanyahu’s motives amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has now responded to reports that Hamas had dropped its demand that Israel commit to not restart its war in Gaza before signing the US-proposed ceasefire agreement. According to news sources that day, Hamas’ surrender paved the ground for the reopening of discussions, which could lead to an accord that would end the war while also allowing much-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza.
As reported by the Times of Israel, instead Netanyahu’s administration released a statement late yesterday outlining four “non-negotiable” conditions. The list includes:
- “Any deal will allow Israel to return to fighting until its war aims are met.”
- “Weapons smuggling to Hamas from the Gaza-Egypt border will not be possible.”
- “The return of thousands of armed terrorists to the northern Gaza Strip will not be possible.”
- “Israel will maximize the number of living hostages who will be returned from Hamas captivity.”
The statement emphasizes that Netanyahu’s unwillingness to halt the IDF ground operation in Rafah “is what brought Hamas back to the negotiating table,” and that Netanyahu “continues to stand firmly behind the principles that have already been agreed upon by Israel.” The release ends that the “framework that was agreed by Israel and was welcomed by President Biden will enable Israel to return hostages without harming the other aims of the war.”
Netanyahu’s opponents wasted little time in accusing him of seeking to sabotage the ceasefire talks, which are due to begin this week. “I have one response to the announcement from the Prime Minister’s Office: What is it good for? We are at a critical moment in the negotiations, the lives of the hostages depend on it; why issue such provocative messages?” Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said in a statement. “How does it contribute to the process?”
According to the Times of Israel, Israeli security officers and mediators were outraged by Netanyahu’s statement, accusing him of attempting to sabotage the agreement for the second time.
Yesterday, there were massive protests across Israel demanding that Netanyahu accept the hostage agreement and hold new elections. In one major demonstration in Tel Aviv, the mother of one of the captives was hanged above the audience in a cage to emphasize the need for a deal. The protests in two of Israel’s most populous cities were preceded by a nationwide day of action, during which protesters blocked highways and held rallies outside the homes of government ministers such as Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Foreign Minister Israel Katz, and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, according to TOI. An effort to march on Netanyahu’s home was thwarted by police obstacles.
An anonymous official from an unnamed mediating country said that Netanyahu was attempting to sabotage the hostage arrangement. “Statements like the one made by the prime minister severely harm efforts to maintain that ambiguity,” the senior official reportedly added. “One cannot help but conclude that they are being made for purely political purposes,” the official said, referring to Netanyahu’s attempt to assuage far-right coalition colleagues who reject the hostage arrangement in question.
Recently, GreatGameIndia reported that in a gripping letter published by the British medical journal The Lancet on July 5, three public health experts revealed that the civilian death toll from Israel’s war in Gaza could be up to 15 times higher than the official count.
