Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reversed a key concession made by Israel during ceasefire negotiations, CNN reported Friday, citing an Israeli source familiar with the talks.
The source said that Israel had previously agreed to allow Palestinians to have unrestricted access to north Gaza during any potential ceasefire. But last week, Netanyahu told his negotiators to add the condition that armed men aren’t allowed to enter the north.
Netanyahu included a similar condition in a list of “non-negotiable” demands he issued last Sunday. “There will be no return of thousands of armed terrorists to the northern Gaza Strip,” he said.
The CNN report said Netanyahu’s new demand could potentially upend the negotiations. The Israeli leader has made other demands aimed at sabotaging the chances of the deal.
In his list of demands last Sunday, Netanyahu said any deal must prevent “smuggling of weapons to Hamas from Egypt to the Gaza border.” Axios reported that Egypt had agreed to build an “underground wall” to prevent arms smuggling through its border with Gaza, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, and the US agreed to fund it.
But after that breakthrough, Netanyahu demanded Israel maintain control of the Philadelphi Corridor. “We will not allow the smuggling of weapons to Hamas from Egypt, first and foremost through Israeli control of the Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah Crossing,” he said.
Netanyahu also continues to insist that any deal must allow him to restart the genocidal war, a condition that’s supported by Mossad chief David Barnea, who has been leading the negotiations.
“Without the clauses Prime Minister Netanyahu insists on, we will not be able to renew the war, and without that, we will not win or retrieve all the hostages. This is what is necessary for the benefit of the State of Israel,” Barnea said at an Israeli Security Cabinet meeting on Thursday.
He has zero interest in a cease fire. Some day the Israelis might even notice this, although the reflex is to blame the arabs
One good way to sabotage any negotiation is to demand the other party cut their own throat. Try it. It works every time. …It works about 150% of the time. …I know my math skills are ridiculous. I meant to say 34 trillion percent of the time.
The Pentagon's accounting department wish to offer you a managerial position.
“Without the clauses Prime Minister Netanyahu insists on, we will not be able to renew the war, and without that, we will not win or retrieve all the hostages. This is what is necessary for the benefit of the State of Israel,” Barnea said at an Israeli Security Cabinet meeting on Thursday.
I guess when he said "retrieve all of the hostages" he meant their dead bodies. Promising to continue to annihilate the people that are holding the hostages doesn't seem like the best way of getting them back alive.
Why would Israel allow Hamas to rearm in any agreement? I certainly don’t trust the Egyptians to prevent arms smuggling into Gaza. Mahmoud el-Sisi, the son of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has been heavily involved in this very lucrative business.
The idea that Israel gets to “allow” or “not allow” Palestinian arms procurement is a fantasy.
Let me restate that. Why should Israel accede to any deal that gives Hamas the opportunity to rearm? Israel is in a position to “allow” or “not allow” this whether people like it or not, just as Hamas is in a position to release or not release Israei hostages
Sure, Israel is in a position to pretend that it’s possible to prevent Hamas from rearming. But it’s not in a position to actually prevent Hamas from rearming. It never has been in such a position.
Hamas may or may not be in a position to release or not release Israeli hostages. That depends on how intact its command, control, and communications systems are at this point, which is unclear.
Sorry. Hamas has received almost all its arms through the Egyptian route. That is no longer viable. Israel should not relinquish control of that border until there is a reliable alternative.
“Israel should not relinquish the illusion of control of that border until there is a reliable alternative fantasy.”
Fixed, no charge.
Once again, sorry to correct you. The border between Egypt and Gaza is 12 km long. Israel controls the surface and will soon have destroyed all the tunnels. So apart from controlling the area above and below ground, you are right. Otherwise…please
He doesn't want Hamas returning to the north – because Hamas is already in the north, despite all of the IDF's efforts. This is proof that Israel has utterly failed in its war – if you assume the intent was to defeat Hamas.
Since the intent is actually genocide of the Palestinians, the entire issue is irrelevant. That is why there will be no ceasefire deal, but apparently our antiwar press – like the mainstream press – aren't capable of simply stating it.