If Hamas agrees to US truce proposal, Israel will say ‘yes’: White House
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby says if Hamas agrees to President Joe Biden’s ceasefire proposal to end the war, the US expects Israel to also accept the plan.
“This was an Israeli proposal. We have every expectation that if Hamas agrees to the proposal – as was transmitted to them, an Israeli proposal – then Israel would say yes,” Kirby said in an interview on the ABC News programme This Week.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a day earlier that its military goal had remained unchanged and that the end of the war would not occur until Hamas had been “destroyed”.
Israel didn't last time.
Netanyahu, war council approve US ceasefire proposal but war goals remain: Report
An Israeli official tells US news outlet CBS that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet have approved US President Joe Biden’s ceasefire proposal and are awaiting Hamas’s response.
The official maintained that Netanyahu would not agree to a permanent ceasefire without fulfilling Israel’s war goals, including returning all Israeli captives held in Gaza and the “destruction” of Hamas and its capabilities.
So they only agree to Phase 1...
Biden needs to see a ‘temporary pause’ in the war
What we are seeing is the White House putting its foot down.
All that stuff about Hamas’s future, whether there seem to be divergent noises from Netanyahu, is one thing, but in the end, this is all about what Biden needs right now, and he needs, sometime in the near future, some kind of temporary pause.
That is what the Israelis have agreed to; a six-week pause, which will then be rolled over as negotiations continue into, for example, the future of Hamas. So that’s what they’re pushing for. That’s been agreed upon, but that’s why there’s still room for that debate about future phases.
But who knows about phase two, phase three, Biden may not be in office. But all the White House is concerned about is that phase one, a six-week temporary pause that can be renewed.
You can't have your cake and eat it too. Hamas only has the hostages as a bargaining chip and wants an end to the war. Without guarantees of a permanent ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal I don't see it happening.
Gallant comes with a West Bank plan.
Israel working to replace Hamas’s rule in Gaza: Gallant
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says Israel is working on finding a government to replace Hamas’s rule in Gaza, as Israeli officials debate post-war plans, The Times of Israel reports.
“In any process of ending the war, we will not accept the rule of Hamas. We are advancing an alternative government to Hamas, within the framework of which we will isolate areas, remove the Hamas members and bring in other forces that will enable a different government,” Gallant said following an assessment at the Southern Command in Beersheba.
“On one hand, military action, and on the other, the ability to change the government, will lead to the achievement of two of the goals of this war: the dismantling of the Hamas government and its military power, and the return of the hostages.”
Last month, Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz demanded that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issue a post-war plan by June 8, threatening to quit the coalition government if no such plan is formulated.
Basically continue occupation with PA type government installed by Israel in local pockets. It's not working in the West Bank, not going to work in Gaza. The idea of militarily eradicating Hamas is a dead end.
Egypt reiterates Israel’s withdrawal from Rafah crossing after meeting: Report
Egypt has stuck to its position that Israel must withdraw from the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing for it to operate again after a meeting between US, Israeli and Egyptian officials concluded in Cairo, two Egyptian security sources told the Reuters news agency.
The security sources said the meeting was positive despite there being no agreement on the reopening of the crossing.
The Egyptian delegation said at the meeting that it would be open to European monitors at the border to oversee its operation by Palestinian authorities if they agreed to resume work.
Egyptian sources added that Israeli and US officials would work quickly to remove the obstacles to the crossing’s operation.
