Netanyahu rejects Hamas demand for Israeli withdrawal from Gaza-Egypt border

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas on Sunday of obstructing a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal by insisting on an Israeli troop withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor on the border between Gaza and Egypt, Anadolu has reported.

“We have not added any demand to the draft,” claimed Netanyahu during a Cabinet meeting. “Hamas is the one which demanded to include dozens of changes.”

Recent Israeli media reports, citing unnamed sources, blamed Netanyahu for derailing Gaza ceasefire talks with Hamas by insisting on conditions not included in the original plan.

“They [rumours] create a false scene as if Hamas had agreed to a deal, and it is the Israeli government that opposes it,” he claimed. “I’m willing to go a very long way to free all of our captives, while maintaining Israel’s security” said the Israel premier. Leaks from senior Israeli officials in the negotiating team and security services about the negotiations “harm the negotiations,” he added.

“Hamas demands that we withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah crossing,” he said. “We are not leaving there. Anyone who, like us, wants the release of our captives should direct the pressure on Hamas, not on the Israeli government.”

On Saturday night, an Israeli security delegation led by Mossad chief David Barnea returned from Egypt after negotiations with Egyptian security officials regarding a hostage exchange deal with Hamas. According to Israeli news website Walla, the delegation’s trip to Cairo was “the result of intense American pressure on Israel in recent days to continue the negotiations.” Nitzan Alon, the head of the military’s hostage file, did not join the Israeli delegation, said Walla, due to “his belief that Netanyahu’s hard-line stance would not lead to real progress.”

Netanyahu’s defiant tone comes amid fears of regional escalation as Iran and Hezbollah have vowed a “harsh response” to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, and the assassination of Hezbollah leader Fuad Shukr in Beirut last week.

“Israel is in a multi-front war against the Iranian axis of evil,” said Netanyahu. “We are striking hard in every arm of its arms. We are prepared for every scenario, both in defence and offence. I repeat to our enemies: We will respond and exact a heavy price for every act of aggression against us, from any front.”

Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt have failed to agree on a permanent ceasefire that allows a prisoner swap between Israel and the Palestinians. So far, efforts to mediate an agreement between Israel and Hamas have been hampered by Netanyahu’s rejection of the resistance movement’s call to end hostilities.

In early June, US President Joe Biden unveiled an Israeli proposal “to cease fighting and release all hostages,” which Hamas accepted at the time, according to Israeli media. However, Netanyahu added new conditions that Barnea and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant believed would hinder any agreement.

A US official said on Saturday that Netanyahu was “ungrateful” towards the US and had lied about a Gaza hostage deal. “Biden realised that Netanyahu was lying to him about the hostages,” the official told Haaretz.

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