Israel’s head of government is dragging out the conclusion of a hostage deal by making new demands. Is he “playing for time” – or does he not want an agreement at all?
Less than a week before his planned trip to Washington, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for further pressure on the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip. “The military pressure that is being applied here, on the throat of Hamas, is helping us (…) to push forward the hostage deal,” he said during a visit to troops in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
The double pressure of decisive military action and “unwavering insistence on our just demands” would “not delay but advance” an agreement to free 120 hostages held by Hamas, he added.
Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas have been going on for months, with Egypt, Qatar and the USA mediating. They revolve around a three-stage plan that includes exchanging hostages for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons and ways to achieve a permanent ceasefire. Participants in the indirect talks recently expressed cautious optimism. However, no further high-level meetings have been announced at present.
Explosion in Tel Aviv
Meanwhile, according to media reports, a serious explosion occurred in the Israeli coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv during the night. Eyewitnesses reported a loud bang near a branch of the US embassy. Surrounding buildings were damaged. The cause of the explosion was initially unclear. According to unconfirmed media reports, it could have been a drone attack. The Israeli military says it is investigating the incident.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague is due to issue an opinion today on the legality of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.
New demands from the head of government
The new standstill in the indirect talks is likely to have been triggered by new demands from Netanyahu that were not included in the original plan. These include keeping Israeli troops in strategic positions in the Gaza Strip for longer or permanently. Netanyahu recently demanded that Israeli units in the middle of the sealed-off coastal strip ensure that no Hamas militiamen return from the south to the north of the area. Israeli soldiers must also remain in parts of Rafah to control the border with Egypt that runs there.
During his previously unannounced visit to the troops on Thursday, Netanyahu echoed the same sentiment. He felt strengthened in his belief that Israel’s control of the Philadelphia Corridor and the Rafah border crossing was crucial for the next phase in the fight against Hamas, Netanyahu said in a video recording from the scene released by the Prime Minister’s Office.
The Philadelphia Corridor is a strip of land about twelve kilometers long that runs along the Gaza side of the border with Egypt. Israel assumes that Hamas has been supplying itself with weapons, goods and money through tunnels that run under the corridor. The border crossing with Egypt has been closed since May after Israeli troops occupied its Gaza side. The mediator Egypt is strictly against parts of Rafah remaining under Israeli occupation in the long term.
Citing high-ranking Israeli officials, journalist Barak Ravid wrote on the news portal “walla.co.il” that the mediators Egypt and Qatar wanted to know from Israel whether the new demands made by Netanyahu were “political” or substantive conditions. In the next few days, Israeli negotiators would travel to Doha and Cairo to convey Israel’s actual position.
Netanyahu is reacting in a coalition with ultra-religious and right-wing extremist partners who are threatening to break up the government coalition if the head of government makes concessions to Hamas. Early elections are likely to cost Netanyahu his office. Legal proceedings for alleged corruption could even land him in prison.
Tactics to retain the premier seat
Ravid continues that the Prime Minister’s Office has assured that Netanyahu is genuinely interested in a hostage agreement. At the same time, he has taken over the relevant agendas and reserves the right to make any decisions himself. Many officials are not sure whether the Prime Minister is “playing for time” or really wants to move things forward.
Some believe that Netanyahu will not want to finalize a deal before the summer recess of parliament, the Knesset, begins at the end of July and lasts three months. During this time, a government overthrow due to the withdrawal of the ultra-right coalition partners would not be possible.
The war was triggered by the massacre in Israel that terrorists from Hamas and other groups carried out on October 7. They killed around 1,200 Israelis and abducted around 250 others to the Gaza Strip. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, almost 39,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war. The number, which does not distinguish between civilians and fighters, cannot currently be independently verified.
Keynote speech to the US Congress
Next Wednesday, Netanyahu plans to give a speech to both houses of the US Congress on Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip. The leaders of both parties in the American parliament had invited Netanyahu to do so. He is also expected to meet with US President Joe Biden, National Security Council Communications Director John Kirby said on Thursday. Biden and Netanyahu last met in person last autumn in Tel Aviv, shortly after the Hamas attacks on October 7.
Meanwhile, Israel continued its attacks in Gaza and Lebanon. In the Al-Saitun district of Gaza city, the army reportedly attacked several Hamas fighters who had used a building abandoned by the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA as their local headquarters.
Targeted killings in Lebanon
In the Lebanese Bekaa Valley, the Israeli military reportedly killed a member of Hamas active in Lebanon. The Palestinian militia confirmed the death of its “martyr”. Mohammed Jabara was responsible for attacks and rocket attacks on Israel, the Israeli military said. According to Lebanese reports, the man was killed when his vehicle was hit from the air and caught fire.
Later on Thursday evening, an Israeli airstrike destroyed a house in the southern Lebanese town of Jamamiye. The commander of a local Hezbollah unit and three of his bodyguards were killed, Lebanese security sources confirmed. The Shiite militia confirmed the death of its commander, Habib Matuk. Israel also confirmed the targeted killing of the Hezbollah man.
Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia have been fighting almost daily since the start of the Gaza war. There have been deaths on both sides. Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran, says it is acting in solidarity with Hamas, which is also active in Lebanon. There have long been fears that the conflict could escalate.
This will be important today
The ICJ in The Hague will present an opinion today on the legality of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. Such an opinion is not legally binding. But if the 15 highest UN judges in The Hague determine that Israel is violating international law, this could increase international political pressure on Israel. Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip after the Six-Day War in 1967.
The UN General Assembly had already commissioned the ICJ in 2022 to determine the legal consequences of Israel’s occupation policy – long before the start of today’s Gaza war in October 2023.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
