Hamas and Israel’s opposition leader both expressed support Monday for a ceasefire deal that President Joe Biden said had been proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, although Netanyahu disputed the version of Biden’s plan.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said Monday that Hamas views Netanyahu’s proposal, unveiled by Biden last week, “positively,” according to a Times of Israel translation. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said during a press briefing Monday that the United States was awaiting a formal response from Hamas to the proposal the militant group received Thursday.
In Israel, Netanyahu’s political rival Yair Lapid urged the government to approve the deal and promised to provide a “political safety net” if the prime minister’s far-right partners followed through on their threats and were withdrawing from the fragile ruling coalition.
“The Israeli government should accept Netanyahu’s proposal and send a delegation to Cairo today to finalize the final details and bring home the men, young women, elderly people, soldiers and women soldiers imprisoned in the tunnels” , Lapid said. .
Biden said Netanyahu had proposed a three-phase plan that included the return of all hostages and Israel’s complete withdrawal from Gaza by the end of the second phase. Netanyahu on Monday, however, called Biden’s description of the proposal “incomplete,” saying Israel maintained “the goals of the war, primarily the elimination of Hamas.”
Biden says Israel has proposed a plan:6-week ceasefire in Gaza and release of hostages
Developments:
∎ More than half of all structures in Gaza appear to have been destroyed or damaged since the war began on October 7, according to a preliminary UN satellite analysis
∎ Hundreds of people marched for peace in central Jerusalem, as a sign of interfaith solidarity. Organizers say the march was intended to counter the Jerusalem Day nationalist flag march, planned for Wednesday.
Netanyahu on Gaza ceasefire:He says Hamas must be destroyed
Israeli politicians reject deal, threaten to dissolve government
Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich described the proposed deal as a “surrender offer” that he and his Religious Zionist party would not support. He blamed Israel’s war cabinet for the offer and said it continued to “humiliate Israel.”
Right-wing Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir accused Netanyahu of “whitewashing” the proposed ceasefire deal and threatened to remove his political party from the ruling coalition if it was approved. Ben-Gvir said his repeated efforts to see details of the deal were rejected by Netanyahu’s office.
“The details of the agreement, as presented by President Biden, show that it is an agreement that means the capitulation of Israel and the end of the war without achieving the main objective of destroying Hamas “, Ben-Gvir said in a statement. “If you sign a vague deal that ends the war without the collapse of Hamas, Otzma Yehudit (Ben Gvir’s party) will dissolve the government.”
No deal to reopen vital Rafah border crossing
US, Egyptian and Israeli officials have held meetings aimed at reopening the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, but it will not reopen until Israel returns control to the Palestinians on the Gaza side , Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Monday. Last month, Israel seized the entire Gaza-Egypt border, including the crossing, during its offensive against Hamas in Rafah. The crossing was the main access point for the flow of humanitarian aid as well as a lifeline to the outside world for more than 2 million Palestinians living in the territory besieged by Israel.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israeli forces are working to destroy tunnels between Gaza and Egypt used by Hamas to smuggle weapons and escape war. Egypt denies the existence of such tunnels.
UN experts urge all nations to recognize Palestine
A coalition of more than two dozen U.N. human rights experts on Monday urged all nations to recognize the state of Palestine and use all available political and diplomatic resources to establish a ceasefire. immediate fire in Gaza. The call came less than a week after Spain, Ireland and Norway joined more than 140 countries in officially recognizing a Palestinian state. Israel has repeatedly condemned such actions, saying they strengthen militant Hamas. The United States sided with Israel, saying a solution must be negotiated.
“This recognition is an important recognition of the rights of the Palestinian people and their struggles and suffering for freedom and independence,” the UN experts said in a statement.
Maldives bans Israeli passport holders
The Maldives has announced plans to ban Israeli passport holders from entering the Indian Ocean island nation, known as a luxury travel destination, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. Mohamed Muizzu, president of the predominantly Muslim country, previously condemned Israel for a recent strike on Rafah in southern Gaza that resulted in the deaths of 45 Palestinians who had sought refuge in a temporary refugee camp established by Israel.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a Facebook post that it advised Israeli citizens to avoid traveling to the Maldives and all Israeli citizens currently in the country to leave, “because if they fall into distress for any reason it will be difficult for us to help him.”
− Savannah Kuchar
Maldives to ban Israelisto enter the country to protest the war in Gaza
How Biden described Netanyahu’s proposal
Biden said last week that Netanyahu had proposed a three-phase deal. The first phase would last six weeks and include “a complete ceasefire and withdrawal” of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza. It would also include the release of some hostages, including women, the elderly and the wounded, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Phase 2 would include the release of all remaining hostages, the complete withdrawal of Israel from Gaza and the “permanent cessation of hostilities.”
Phase 3 would include a major plan to rebuild Gaza, and the bodies of all other hostages killed in captivity would be returned to their families.
Contributors: Francesca Chamers and Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
News Source : www.usatoday.com
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