White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan intends to visit Israel on Thursday and Friday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as part of American efforts to pressure Israel to envision the “day after” the war that Israel has been waging on the Gaza Strip for 68 days.

US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrian Watson said on Wednesday evening that Sullivan intends to hold meetings with Netanyahu, the Israeli “war cabinet” and President Isaac Herzog, to discuss the latest developments in Israel and Gaza, in a visit that comes amid declared tensions between US President Joe Biden. , Netanyahu, regarding the Israeli military operation in Gaza.

Biden said on Tuesday that Israel has begun to lose international support due to its “indiscriminate” bombing of Gaza and that Netanyahu must “change,” indicating that the latter cannot reject the two-state solution in the future, which reveals a new rift in relations with the Israeli Prime Minister, who He spoke publicly about a dispute with Washington “over the next day for Hamas,” as he put it.

With his visit to Israel, there is a state of concern among Israeli officials that Sullivan will offer Israel an American deadline of only a few weeks to end the war, after the White House announced that one of the topics of Sullivan’s talks will be a “timetable” for the war, while Israel seeks to prolong the war. Its war in light of the failure to achieve any of the declared goals.

Israeli Channel 12 reported, on Wednesday evening, that Biden sent Sullivan to Tel Aviv to “make sure that the American message that the hourglass is about to run out clearly reached officials in the Israeli government and that Israeli plans are consistent with the American timetable for the war.”

The timetable that Tel Aviv will present to Washington:

> By the end of next January: Israel is expected to end the “violent fighting” phase, referring to the most violent and intense phase of its attack on the Gaza Strip, noting that Washington was seeking to end this phase by next year, specifically at the beginning of January. January 2024, but “in light of the current situation, Tel Aviv does not see the possibility of this.”

> Several weeks to withdraw forces: Channel 12 revealed that the Israeli “war cabinet” will ask Washington for “a few more weeks after the end of the fighting (intensive attacks), to complete the withdrawal of forces from the heart of Gaza and deploy them in defensive lines, some inside the Strip and some outside it.”

> Completing the plan to “eliminate Hamas”: Channel 12 indicated that this phase will be considered the longest in the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, and without it, the declared Israeli goal of “eliminating the Hamas movement, ending its ability to rule the Gaza Strip or attack Israel” will not be achieved.

According to Channel 12, the phase of “eliminating Hamas,” as it put it, will continue throughout the year 2024, and includes a shift in tactics to destroy Hamas’ military capacity through specific ground operations and air strikes, aimed at pursuing Hamas members and senior leaders of the movement, in addition to other military targets.

While American officials stress that they do not want to see Israel occupy Gaza, they acknowledge that a temporary occupation may be necessary until long-term arrangements are reached with Israel and other partners. Channel 12 confirmed that Israel aims to continue its “security control” in The foreseeable future of the sector.

Channel 12 considered that the timetable prepared by Israel to discuss it with its American ally regarding its war on Gaza is “realistic and constitutes a strong basis for deliberations between officials in Tel Aviv and their counterparts in Washington to reach a settlement on this matter,” while it stressed American insistence on introducing humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. .

The channel pointed to a possible equation that Israel seeks to establish and convince Washington to continue the war on the Gaza Strip with its current intensity and intensity until the end of last January, despite Washington’s desire to reduce the most intense phase of the Israeli war on Gaza in early next January, which is Opening the Kerem Shalom crossing to increase aid to Gaza.

The White House: Israel will continue to pursue Hamas

The two sides, the American and Israeli, confirm that there are no differences between Washington and Tel Aviv regarding the war on Gaza and its declared goals of eliminating the Hamas movement, ending its ability to rule the Gaza Strip or attack Israel, and that the disagreement that has emerged over the past days is related to the lack of an Israeli vision for “today.” The next war is consistent with American plans for the region.

In a related context, John Kirby, coordinator of strategic communications at the National Security Council at the White House, said that Washington conveyed its concerns to Tel Aviv regarding the method of carrying out Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip, indicating “the need for the Israeli army to be more precise in preventing civilian casualties.” ".

Kirby added, in a press statement on Wednesday evening, “We constantly encourage the Israelis to be as careful as possible, while acknowledging that Hamas was the one who started (the attacks) on October 7 last year.” Kirby stated that the Israeli army will continue to pursue Hamas, “but it is very important that it does not target civilians while doing so,” as he put it.

Source: Sama News