US Prez Joe Biden’s proposal for a ceasefire and hostage-release deal to end the war in Gaza was only part of the full package, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Israel is willing to pause hostilities for the purpose of returning hostages but what happens next will be subject to further talks, Netanyahu said in a meeting with parliament’s foreign affairs and defence committee on Monday, according to a spokesman for his office.There are other details that the US prez did not present to the public, he said, without being more specific. “The outline that Prez Biden presented is partial,” spokesman David Mencer quoted the PM as saying. Netanyahu, in a separate statement issued by his office, said “claims that we have agreed to a ceasefire without our conditions being met are incorrect”.
His comments raise further questions about the three phase peace plan laid out by Biden, which he said had been put forward by Israel. That proposal detailed a six-week truce involving an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, followed by focus on an Israeli withdrawal of troops and permanent ceasefire. Netanyahu was quick to push back against the idea he’s on board with that plan, saying the destruc tion of Hamasremains a nonnegotiable target. The Israeli PM is under pressure from far right allies who have threatened to leave his governing coalition and bring down the govt if he agrees to end the war without dismantling Hamas.
The PM’s far-right coalition partners, party leaders national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, both slammed the latest plan on Monday. Ben Gvir said the “whitewashed” proposal laid out by Biden would mean “the end of the war without achieving the objective that the cabinet clearly set: the destruction of Hamas”. If Netanyahu would “sign on an irresponsible deal”, Ben Gvir said his party “will break up the govt”. Smotrich said: “If, heaven forbid, the government decides to adopt this proposal of surrender, we will not be part of it and we will act to replace the failed leadership with new leadership.”
If the right-wing lawmakers depart the govt, it could force the fall of Netanyahu’s coalition. Opposition politician Yair Lapid, a centrist ex-PM, has said the govt “can’t ignore Biden’s important speech”, vowing to back Netanyahu if his far-right coalition partners quit. Hamas on Friday said it viewed Biden’s outline “positively”, but since has made no official comment on the stalled negotiations, while mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States have not announced any new round of talks.