{"id":63924,"date":"2024-06-01T20:12:27","date_gmt":"2024-06-01T20:12:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/01\/after-bidens-call-for-truce-netanyahu-says-israels-war-plans-are-unchanged\/"},"modified":"2024-06-01T20:12:27","modified_gmt":"2024-06-01T20:12:27","slug":"after-bidens-call-for-truce-netanyahu-says-israels-war-plans-are-unchanged","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/01\/after-bidens-call-for-truce-netanyahu-says-israels-war-plans-are-unchanged\/","title":{"rendered":"After Biden\u2019s Call for Truce, Netanyahu Says Israel\u2019s War Plans Are Unchanged"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/06\/01\/multimedia\/01mideast-crisis-ledeall-01-ftck\/01mideast-crisis-ledeall-01-ftck-facebookJumbo.jpg?fit=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"After Biden\u2019s Call for Truce, Netanyahu Says Israel\u2019s War Plans Are Unchanged\" title=\"After Biden\u2019s Call for Truce, Netanyahu Says Israel\u2019s War Plans Are Unchanged\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A day after President Biden called on Israel and Hamas to reach a truce, declaring that it was \u201ctime for this war to end,\u201d Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday reiterated that Israel would not agree to a permanent cease-fire in Gaza as long as Hamas still retains governing and military power.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In his statement, Mr. Netanyahu did not explicitly endorse or reject a proposed cease-fire plan that Mr. Biden had laid out in an unusually detailed address on Friday. Two Israeli officials confirmed that Mr. Biden\u2019s proposal matched an Israeli cease-fire proposal that had been greenlit by Israel\u2019s war cabinet. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But the timing of Mr. Netanyahu\u2019s remarks, coming first thing the next morning, seemed to put the brakes on Mr. Biden\u2019s hopes for a speedy resolution to the war, which has claimed the lives of more than 36,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIsrael\u2019s conditions for ending the war have not changed: the destruction of Hamas\u2019s military and governing capabilities, the freeing of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel,\u201d Mr. Netanyahu\u2019s office said in the statement released on Saturday morning. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Biden administration officials and some Israeli analysts said they believed that Israel still supported the proposal Mr. Biden described on Friday, and that Mr. Netanyahu\u2019s statement on Saturday was more tailored to his domestic audience and meant to manage his far-right cabinet members, rather than to push back against the White House. Mr. Biden is eager for the war to end, with the American presidential election just five months away.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But Mr. Netanyahu\u2019s domestic political worries could prove paramount. On Saturday night, two of Mr. Netanyahu\u2019s far-right coalition partners \u2014 Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir \u2014 threatened to quit his government should he move forward with the proposal. Mr. Ben-Gvir labeled the terms of the agreement a \u201ctotal defeat\u201d and a \u201cvictory for terrorism.\u201d If both of their parties left his coalition, it could mark the end of Mr. Netanyahu\u2019s government.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Hamas immediately welcomed Mr. Biden\u2019s speech on Friday and said that it was willing to deal \u201cpositively and constructively\u201d with any deal that met its list of demands, including a complete Israeli withdrawal, a permanent cease-fire, the reconstruction of Gaza, the return of displaced Palestinians to their homes and a \u201cserious prisoner exchange.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As outlined by Mr. Biden the plan did not specify who would rule the Gaza Strip after the war. Unless other arrangements are reached, that could leave Hamas in de facto charge of the territory, which the Palestinian armed group would likely consider a major strategic victory after nearly eight months of an Israeli military offensive. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ever since the armed group\u2019s devastating Oct. 7 attack, which Israeli authorities have said left 1,200 dead in Israel and 250 others taken hostage, Israeli leaders have vowed to topple Hamas\u2019s rule in Gaza. They have also said they will maintain \u201csecurity control\u201d in Gaza after the war, making a full withdrawal more difficult.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Netanyahu has repeatedly promised the Israeli public \u201cabsolute victory&#8221; over Hamas, arguing in April that such an outcome lay just \u201ca step away.\u201d Hamas militants, nonetheless, have fought a dogged guerrilla war against Israeli troops in Gaza, and top leaders of Hamas there have frustrated Israeli efforts to capture or assassinate them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Analysts in Israel described Mr. Biden\u2019s address as intending to bypass Mr. Netanyahu, to make a direct appeal to the Israeli public, which broadly supports the war effort, according to surveys. Although Israeli officials have put forward proposals that included commitments to a sustained cease-fire, Mr. Netanyahu faces a host of competing pressures at home that could lead his government to turn, they said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cBiden is challenging Israel, saying: \u2018I am expecting you to allow this arrangement to go forward. Do not sabotage it. Do not drag the rug out from underneath it for political reasons,\u201d said Uzi Arad, a former Israeli national security adviser under Mr. Netanyahu. \u201cPut your money where your mouth is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The families of hostages held in Gaza have rallied public support for their call for a cease-fire deal, amid rising fears over their loved ones\u2019 fates, with large crowds attending demonstrations in Tel Aviv. About 125 of the roughly 250 hostages remain in Gaza, with over 30 of them presumed dead, the Israeli authorities have said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Gil Dickmann, whose cousin Carmel Gat was abducted from Kibbutz Be\u2019eri during the Hamas-led massacre there on Oct. 7, conceded that the deal would be difficult to swallow for parts of the Israeli public. But he said reaching an agreement to free the remaining hostages was critical.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIf this deal doesn\u2019t go through, because of either Hamas or Israel, we are heading toward a forever war, where we sink deeper and deeper into the mud, dragging down Israelis, Palestinians and certainly the hostages,\u201d Mr. Dickmann said. \u201cIt could be now or never.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Were Mr. Netanyahu to agree to the deal, however, he could struggle to maintain his governing coalition. Some of his far-right coalition partners have suggested they might leave his government should there be what they see as a premature end to the war. And if Israel agreed to a truce that allowed Hamas to retain power, even moderate Israelis would likely wonder what the offensive in Gaza had really accomplished.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Netanyahu\u2019s emergency unity government is already under threat: Benny Gantz, a rival who united with Mr. Netanyahu as a wartime measure, has threatened to leave unless the premier articulates a plan for postwar Gaza and to bring home hostages by June 8. Mr. Netanyahu has yet to announce any intention to meet Mr. Gantz\u2019s demands.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Thursday, Mr. Dickmann said he had met with Israel\u2019s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, along with several other hostage family members. Mr. Hanegbi told the group that the Israeli government was not in a place to agree to a hostage release deal that included ending the war, Mr. Dickmann said. Mr. Hanegbi also said earlier this week that he expected the fighting to last for another several months.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Yair Lapid, the leader of Israel\u2019s parliamentary opposition, urged Mr. Netanyahu to take the deal as outlined by President Biden. He repeated that his party would give Mr. Netanyahu a \u201csafety net,\u201d preventing a vote of no-confidence to topple the government should hard-liners like Itamar Ben Gvir, the national security minister, resign in protest over a cease-fire deal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Analysts said that Mr. Netanyahu has tried to avoid that scenario, as it would make him dependent on some of his harshest critics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Israel and Hamas first observed a weeklong truce in late November during which 105 hostages and 240 Palestinian prisoners were released. Since then, both sides have carved out seemingly intractable positions: Hamas conditioned any further hostage releases on Israel ending the war, while Israel vowed there would be no truce until it destroyed Hamas and brought home its hostages.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The proposed cease-fire plan, as laid out by Mr. Biden, would begin with a six-week halt in hostilities, during which Hamas would release women, the elderly and wounded hostages held in Gaza since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack on Israel that started the war. Israel would withdraw from major population centers in Gaza, release at least hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and facilitate the daily entry of at least 600 humanitarian aid trucks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">During the first phase, hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinian civilians would return to their homes in northern Gaza for the first time in months. Israeli officials have said their forces would gradually withdraw so as to enable them to return largely unfettered, in the event that hostilities resumed. They viewed the offer as a concession to Hamas, who they argued could use the opening to rebuild its government in northern Gaza.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">During the second phase, Israel and Hamas would effectively declare that the war had ended, Mr. Biden said. Hamas would release the remaining living hostages, including male Israeli soldiers, in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, while Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza. The third phase would then provide for the reconstruction of Gaza and Hamas would return of the bodies of the remaining dead hostages.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Gershon Baskin, an Israeli activist who helped negotiate the 2011 release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier held for years by Hamas, said the deal Mr. Biden outlined underscored the necessity of a plan to defeat Hamas politically by building an alternative Palestinian government.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe bottom line, in the absence of any coherent \u2018day-after\u2019 plan that replaces Hamas in Gaza, is that accepting the plan means giving into Hamas\u2019s demands,\u201d said Mr. Baskin, who nonetheless supports the deal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Biden allowed that there were still \u201ca number of details to negotiate\u201d in order to advance to the second phase of the deal \u2014 the announcement of a lasting cease-fire. He said Israel and Hamas would negotiate throughout the first phase in an attempt to reach acceptable terms for the continued cessation of hostilities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Zolan Kanno-Youngs contributed reporting from Rehoboth Beach, Del.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/06\/01\/world\/middleeast\/netanyahu-biden-peace-gaza-hamas.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A day after President Biden called on Israel and Hamas to reach a truce, declaring that it was \u201ctime for this war to end,\u201d Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday reiterated that Israel would not agree to a permanent cease-fire in Gaza as long as Hamas still retains governing and military power. In his statement, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":63925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/06\/01\/multimedia\/01mideast-crisis-ledeall-01-ftck\/01mideast-crisis-ledeall-01-ftck-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2068,875,5558,4758,1925,19437,17581,3102],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63924"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63924"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63924\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63926,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63924\/revisions\/63926"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}