The United States of America expected Israel to accept the agreement to end the war in Gaza if the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) agreed to it, and while Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir threatened to dissolve the government if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the deal, Hamas said that it deals positively with the president’s ideas. American.

White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said that the United States expects Israel to agree to the proposal presented by US President Joe Biden if Hamas agrees to it.

Kirby added - in an interview with ABC - that the proposal was Israeli, "and we expect that if Hamas agrees to the proposal - as was conveyed to them - Israel will say yes to it."

He continued that Hamas officials welcomed the Israeli ceasefire proposal, "and we are awaiting their official response," expressing his hope that Hamas would agree to the proposal as soon as possible, so that the implementation of the first phase of the agreement could begin.

In this context, ABC quoted an Israeli official and informed Israeli sources as saying that what Biden revealed in his speech regarding the war in the Gaza Strip is actually the broad outlines of the Israeli proposal that was approved by all members of the War Council, including Netanyahu, and was sent to brokers earlier in the week.

The sources added that there were gaps in interpretation that marred the way Biden presented the aforementioned proposal, in reference to the issue of a permanent cessation of fighting in the Palestinian Strip.

War council meeting

For its part, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation announced that the War Council will meet this evening in Tel Aviv to discuss the prisoner exchange deal and the resumption of negotiations.

In a related development, Ofir Falk, Netanyahu’s chief foreign policy advisor, confirmed that Biden’s proposal is “a deal that we agreed to... It is not a good agreement, but we very much want the hostages to be released.”

In an interview with the British newspaper The Sunday Times, Falk said that “there are many details that need to be worked out,” adding that the Israeli conditions, including “the release of the hostages and the destruction of Hamas as a terrorist organization (committing) genocide,” have not changed, as he put it. .

Israeli President Isaac Herzog also announced - today, Sunday - that he will support Netanyahu if he agrees to Biden's plan to conclude a deal between Israel and Hamas that will end the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli media quoted Herzog as saying, "I told the prime minister that I will give him and the government support for the deal they will make to release the hostages."

He added, "When it comes to Israeli citizens who were not guarded and protected by the state, they must be returned to their homes within the framework of a deal that will protect the security interests of the State of Israel."

Ben Gvir threatens

On the other hand, Israeli Channel 7 quoted National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir as saying that if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to push for the conclusion of this deal, we will dissolve the government.

He added that the deal, the details of which were published, means abandoning the destruction of Hamas and abandoning the continuation of the war, describing it as an irresponsible deal.

Israeli Settlement Minister Orit Struck also refused to allow the War Council to take any political decision regarding the fate of the war on Gaza.

Struck said - in her publication - that the War Council does not have any authority that allows it to direct the political leadership, and that any proposal emanating from it that opposes the goals of the war is an illegal proposal, stressing that the Ministerial Council alone is authorized to set these policies.

As for Defense Minister Yoav Galant, he stressed that Israel will not accept the Hamas movement continuing to rule Gaza at any stage during the process of ending the war, and that they are studying alternatives for the Palestinian group, he said.

Gallant added - in a statement - "While we are carrying out our important military operations, the defense establishment is working at the same time to study an alternative to Hamas in ruling Gaza."

He continued, "We will not accept Hamas's rule in Gaza at any stage of any process aimed at ending the war."

Contrary to what was stated in Biden's speech, Netanyahu's office said that the latter insists on not ending the war on the Gaza Strip until all its goals are achieved.

Netanyahu insists on a temporary ceasefire, without ending the war or withdrawing from the Gaza Strip.

Hamas welcomes

As for the Palestinian level, the leader of the Hamas movement, Osama Hamdan, told Al Jazeera that the movement deals positively with the ideas of the American President, which he described as a general framework, and welcomes the desire of the mediators to reach an agreement. But he stressed the necessity of achieving this by reaching what he called a complete agreement that includes a ceasefire, Israeli withdrawal, relief and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

Hamdan added that the mediators' statement reflects a serious attempt, but he added that hopes alone are not enough and that the one who must be pressured is the Israeli side, which has been obstructive and stubborn over the past months.

A Qatari, Egyptian, and American statement called on Hamas and Israel to conclude an agreement that embodies the principles set by the American president.

On Friday, Biden announced what he said was a three-stage plan put forward by the Netanyahu government to end the war. He explained that the first stage includes a truce and the return of some of the detainees held by Hamas, after which the two sides will negotiate to stop the attacks for an indefinite period in the second stage in which the remaining detainees will be released. Alive. Biden’s talk about this proposal comes despite Israel’s earlier rejection of another proposal presented by Egypt and Qatar, and Hamas and the Palestinian factions announced their approval of it on May 6.

With the mediation of Egypt and Qatar and the participation of the United States, Israel and Hamas have been conducting faltering indirect negotiations for months, while the Israeli war on Gaza has continued since October 7, 2023.

The Israeli war on Gaza left more than 118,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and about 10,000 missing amid massive destruction and famine that claimed the lives of children and the elderly.

Israel continues this war, ignoring a Security Council resolution demanding that it stop the fighting immediately, and orders from the International Court of Justice demanding that it stop its attack on the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, and take immediate measures to prevent acts of genocide and improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies