‘Israel is prepared for any threat’: Netanyahu
Speaking at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, the Israeli prime minister said: “Israel is prepared for any threat – both defensively and offensively. We are determined to defend ourselves, and we are also determined to exact a heavy price from any enemy who dares to attack us – from any arena.”
Netanyahu also said that Israel is adhering to its demands in ongoing ceasefire talks, positions that he claims are in line with the proposal laid out by the White House in May.
“We are conducting very complex negotiations, while on the other side stands a murderous, uninhibited, and obstinate terrorist organisation,” he said. “Strong military pressure, and strong diplomatic pressure, is the way to achieve the release of our hostages,” Netanyahu added.
Israel calls on mediators to pressure Hamas into deal
The Israeli prime minister has been quite firm in his beliefs pointing the finger at Hamas, saying they are the reason why these ceasefire-for-captives-release talks have not been successful. But Hamas has pointed the finger at Israel throughout the entire months of negotiations this summer.
In fact, Netanyahu added several “non-negotiable” conditions that he called “red lines” back in July when these talks started to pick up again. The Israelis are saying that their position is known to the mediators and that those same mediators should be applying pressure on Hamas, instead of Israel.
There have been anonymous sources speaking to Israeli media, saying that while there has been progress and there is this feeling of cautious optimism, they do want to lower expectations because they do not exactly know what’s going to happen.
As we heard from the Israeli prime minister, Israel has red lines and they are tough ones – ones that perhaps Hamas will not accept. An Israeli delegation is in Cairo meeting with mediators in hopes that talks would continue so that there can be a ceasefire deal.
Blinken in Israel to push for at least ‘temporary regional de-escalation’
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is on another trip to the region to shore up the possibility of a Gaza ceasefire and will face a new set of problems, according to Samuel Ramani, a fellow at the Royal United Service Institute from London.
“Hamas is unwilling to engage with these talks because they say it will impose American diktats on them, and they’re sceptical that Israel might add conditions at the last minute. They’re accusing the Americans of trying to provide cover for genocide and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza makes it more complicated,” he told Al Jazeera.
Ramani pointed out that US arms transfers to Israel are ongoing, with Washington sending $3.5bn in arms on the same day that US Vice President Kamala Harris was calling for a ceasefire.
“I think what the Biden administration has been doing is holding backchannel conversations with Israel to urge them to move in the direction of accepting the ceasefire and to detach Netanyahu from the influence of some of his right-wing partners. That hasn’t necessarily worked,” the analyst said.
“I think that backchannel pressure is what will be continuing with Blinken’s visit and meeting with Netanyahu,” Ramani said, adding that US President Joe Biden would want at least some sort of a temporary regional de-escalation before the November election.
Hamas reiterates Netanyahu main obstacle to ceasefire deal
The Palestinian armed group has released a statement related to the recent two-day talks in Doha which ended on Friday.
Here is a summary of what they said:
- After listening to the mediators about what happened in the talks, we became certain that (Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu is still putting obstacles in the way of reaching an agreement.
- The new proposal meets Netanyahu’s conditions and aligns with them, especially his rejection of a permanent ceasefire and withdrawal from Gaza.
- The new proposal meets Netanyahu’s conditions, especially his insistence on continuing to occupy the Netzarim Junction, the Rafah Crossing, and the Philadelphi Corridor.
- The new proposal places new conditions on the prisoner exchange file and withdraws from other items, which prevents the completion of the exchange deal.
- We hold Netanyahu fully responsible for thwarting the mediators’ efforts and obstructing reaching an agreement.
- We dealt responsibly with the efforts of the mediators in Qatar and Egypt and with all proposals aimed at reaching an agreement.
- We asked the mediators to present a plan to implement what was offered to us and we agreed to it so that the negotiations would not remain in a vicious circle.
Israel insists on remaining in Philadelphi Corridor: Prime minister’s office
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has said that the prime minister insists “that we remain in the Philadelphi Corridor in order to prevent terrorist elements from rearming”. The corridor is part of a larger demilitarised zone along both sides of the entire Israel-Egypt border.
In a statement, his office also said that the “prime minister will continue to work on advancing a deal that will maximise the number of living hostages and which will enable the achieving of all of the war objectives”.
