Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US President Joe Biden during their phone call on Sunday that “contrary to reports and interpretations in the Israeli media,” he is indeed interested in reaching a deal to release the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
However, according to Netanyahu, it should be a deal that can pass through the cabinet, according to senior American and Israeli officials who are familiar with the contents of the conversation.
Is Netanyahu serious about reaching a hostage deal?
Senior officials in the Biden administration have questioned in the last two weeks whether Netanyahu is indeed serious about negotiations to reach a hostage deal or whether, in fact, the continued operation of the IDF against Hamas in the Gaza Strip is higher on his list of priorities.
One of the goals of the conversation between Biden and Netanyahu from the point of view of the White House was to make it clear to the prime minister that the president wants to see Israel conduct serious negotiations to try to reach a deal.
Biden’s pressure on Netanyahu led to the fact that the prime minister today dispatched a delegation led by the head of the Mossad for talks in Cairo with the head of the CIA, the prime minister of Qatar, and the head of Egyptian intelligence in an attempt to bring about a breakthrough in the negotiations.
‘Generous terms’ drawn up in Paris
Senior American and Israeli officials said that Netanyahu told Biden that Hamas’s position was very far from the “generous terms” that he claimed were drawn up in Paris.
He pointed out that in the previous deal, Israel agreed to give a day of respite for every ten hostages who were released. Now, Israel agrees to give a day of respite to Hamas for everyone hostage who is released.
The prime minister emphasized to the president that he was ready to go to a hostage deal, even though it would stop the operational activity of the IDF – especially with regard to entering Rafah.
“But it is important to us if it is possible,” Netanyahu told Biden.
Netanyahu emphasized that Israel would be ready to release three Palestinian prisoners for each hostage, as it did in the previous deal, but would not agree to the release of thousands of prisoners as Hamas demands. A senior American noted that Biden replied that it was a negotiation and that Israel may have to release more prisoners than in the previous deal.
US official: President working on this issue non-stop
An American official briefed on the contents of the conversation said that the discussion between Biden and Netanyahu regarding the hostage deal was detailed and dealt with all its elements.
“The president has been working on this issue non-stop for the past month,” the US official said.
According to the American official, the “key” issue of releasing Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli hostages remains a major point of contention.
“During the conversation, Biden and Netanyahu did not discuss specific positions on the key issue of prisoners but rather ways to move forward on this issue. They agreed that Hamas’s demands on the issue are a ‘non-starter,'” said the American official.
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