Netanyahu: I do not accept the agreement that ends the war in Gaza

2024-06-24 10:23:26, Kosova & Bota CNA

Netanyahu: I do not accept the agreement that ends the war in Gaza

Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu. Source, AP

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is only willing to accept a "partial" ceasefire deal that would not end the war in the Gaza Strip.

In an interview broadcast Sunday night on the Israeli channel "14," which is pro-Israeli leader, Netanyahu said he is willing to make a "partial agreement - this is not something secret - that would bring us back some of the people," referring to the 120 or so hostages still being held in Gaza.

"But we are committed to continuing the fight after a pause in order to fulfill our goal of eliminating Hamas [the group designated as a terrorist organization by the US and the EU]. I am not ready to give it up," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu's latest comments do not differ much from what he has said in the past about the terms he wants for a deal.

However, he made them at a sensitive time, as Israel and Hamas appear to be drifting further and further away from the latest ceasefire proposal.

Netanyahu's comments also stand in stark contrast to the terms of the deal detailed late last month by US President Joe Biden, who described the plan as Israeli and which some in Israel referred to as the "Netanyahu deal". .

His comments could further strain relations between Israel and the US, its main ally.

The three-phase plan calls for the release of all remaining hostages in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. But there is disagreement and mistrust between Israel and Hamas over how the deal would be implemented.

Hamas insists it will not release the remaining hostages unless there is a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. When Biden announced the proposal in late May, he said the deal included both.

But Netanyahu says Israel is committed to rooting out Hamas and making sure the group never carries out an attack like the one on Oct. 7 again.

The plan includes three phases to end the war with a multi-year plan to rebuild Gaza, which has been almost completely destroyed by the fighting.

Israel launched the war in Gaza in response to an attack by Hamas in southern Israel on October 7 that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped around 250 others.

Israel says more than 100 hostages are still being held in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 others.

Since then, the Israeli war in Gaza has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians, half of them children and women, according to Palestinian health officials./ REL