File: PM Netanyahu (C) , Defense Minister Gallant ( L) and IDF chief of staff Herzl Halevi. Credit: Kobi Gideon, GPO.
Senior Israeli defense officials, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF chief Herzi Halevi, were reported to have told Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that his insistence on new terms will sabotage the ceasefire-hostage release deal currently under negotiation, prompting Netanyahu to claim that it was Hamas, not him, who was introducing new demands, according to a Times of Israel report.
Channel 12 news quoted both Halevi and Gallant as accusing Netanyahu of being well aware that the new conditions he is demanding, which have reportedly been included in an updated Israeli proposal, would doom the deal.
The new proposal is said to demand an inspection mechanism be put in place to ensure terrorists are not able to move to the northern Gaza strip; see Israel remaining on the Gaza-Egypt border, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, during the first phase of the deal; and insist on Israel receiving a list of all living hostages Hamas will release as part of the deal.
None of those demands appeared in an Israeli proposal submitted on May 27, which was then publicly revealed by US President Joe Biden and is vehemently opposed by Ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich.
“There is no security reason to delay the deal. Since we’re speaking candidly, I am telling you that you are making considerations that are not beneficial to the matter,” Gallant was quoted as telling Netanyahu during a top-level security meeting on Wednesday night.
“Regarding Philadelphi, I do not recommend that we turn it into an obstacle or something that prevents us from bringing home from [Gaza] 30 people in the first stage [of the deal], half of them women,” Halevi added.
In response, Channel 12 quoted a “senior source” — the network indicated it was Netanyahu himself — accusing his critics of acting out of political motives.
The original document from May calls for the “withdrawal of Israeli forces eastwards away from densely populated areas along the borders in all areas of the Gaza Strip including Gaza Valley (Netzarim axis and Kuwait roundabout).”
Meanwhile, Channel 13 news reported Saturday evening that the United States had conveyed angry messages that Israel has “backed off” from a deal that it itself had proposed. The network quoted unnamed Egyptian sources as saying the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh has frozen the talks, but won’t hold them off for long.
“The leaks and false briefings by unknown parties in the media create a false representation to the public,” the Prime Minister’s Office told the Kan public broadcaster on Saturday evening, after it reported that Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar had accused the premier of “making changes” to Israel’s proposal in the middle of negotiations.
According to Kan, members of the negotiating team told Netanyahu that his position regarding the Netzarim corridor would “collapse the deal” and that “we approved a proposal that treats the corridor differently.”
“While Prime Minister Netanyahu agreed to the outline, Hamas is trying to introduce dozens of changes which effectively cancel it,” Netanyahu’s office responded — asserting that he had “not added anything to the outline and continues to adhere to the basic conditions for Israel’s security.”
“Whoever offers to give in to Hamas’s demands in order to receive applause in [television] studios harms the chances for the release of the hostages and returns us to the reality of [the societal rifts of] October 6,” the PMO claimed.
The reports regarding the security chiefs’ disagreement with Netanyahu came as a high-level Israeli delegation reportedly visited Cairo on Saturday for indirect talks with American and Egyptian negotiators, but returned the same day.
Hebrew media reported that Mossad chief Dedi Barnea, Shin Bet security agency head Ronen Bar and Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, head of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), held meetings in Cairo with Egyptian Intelligence head Abbas Kamel and senior Egyptian military officials.
Several reports indicated Saturday evening that the meeting had not borne progress. An Israeli source was quoted by the Haaretz daily saying that the talks failed to produce results and that “the very departure of the delegation to Egypt under these circumstances is the only good news.”
Following Saturday’s talks, opposition Leader Yair Lapid accused Netanyahu of “continuing to delay the deal for the return of the hostages for only political reasons.” Lapid called on the heads of Israel’s security establishment to “come out and tell the public the truth,” stating that “if the Israeli government has given up on the hostages, it should be honest with the families and stop playing games.”
President Biden also appeared to exhibit skepticism regarding Netanyahu’s willingness to reach a deal, chastising him during a phone call on Thursday according to a Channel 12 report
The network said the outburst came after Netanyahu told Biden that Israel was moving forward with negotiations on a hostage-for-ceasefire deal and would soon send a delegation to resume talks.
Vin News
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