Israeli officials had consented to a framework agreement that will conclude the Gaza war. The agreement, according to a Netanyahu aide, was flawed and required significant improvement.
US President Joe Biden is advancing this deal.
In an interview with Britain’s Sunday Times, Ophir Falk, Netanyahu’s chief foreign policy adviser, stated that the Biden proposal was an agreed-upon deal. He added, “It is not a good deal, but we dearly want the hostages released, all of them.”
He stated that the Israeli conditions, which include “the release of the hostages and the destruction of Hamas as a genocidal terrorist organization,” remain unchanged and that numerous details need resolution.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken engaged in separate phone conversations regarding the proposal with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Benny Gantz, a centrist minister who joined Netanyahu in an emergency coalition, later on Sunday, according to the U.S. State Department.
Biden initially supported Israel’s offensive; however, he has since expressed his dissatisfaction with the high number of civilians killed. The parties would then negotiate an open-ended cessation of hostilities for a subsequent phase, which would see the release of the remaining live captives.
Biden stated that the initial phase would involve a truce and the return of certain hostages seized by Hamas. Subsequently, the parties would engage in negotiations to establish an open-ended cessation of hostilities for a subsequent phase, during which the remaining live captives would be released.
It seems that the sequencing implies that Hamas would continue to participate in incremental arrangements facilitated by Egypt and Qatar, which could potentially conflict with Israel’s intention to relaunch the campaign to eliminate the Iranian-backed Islamist group.
The primary obstacle has been Israel’s refusal to negotiate beyond temporary ceasefires until it eliminates Hamas. Hamas maintains that it will only release its hostages upon achieving a permanent resolution to the conflict.
