A day after President Biden called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and declared that “the time has come to end this war,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated Saturday that Israel would not agree to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza as long as Hamas still retains governance and military power.
In his statement, Netanyahu neither explicitly endorsed nor rejected the ceasefire plan that Biden laid out in an unusually detailed speech on Friday. Two Israeli officials confirmed that Biden's proposal was consistent with a ceasefire plan approved by Israel's war cabinet. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations.
But the timing of Netanyahu's comments first thing the next morning appeared to put the brakes on Biden's hopes for a quick resolution to the war that has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
“Israel's conditions for ending the war remain the same: the destruction of Hamas' military and governing power, the release of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel,” Netanyahu's office said in a statement on Saturday morning.
Biden administration officials and some Israeli experts said Israel still supports the proposals Biden outlined on Friday and believed Netanyahu's statements on Saturday were geared toward a domestic audience and intended to control far-right cabinet members rather than intended to hit back at the White House.Biden is eager to end the war with just five months to go until the U.S. presidential election.
But Netanyahu's domestic political concerns may be his most significant. On Saturday night, two of Netanyahu's far-right coalition partners, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, warned that they would quit the government if he went ahead with the proposal. Ben Gvir called the terms of the deal a “total defeat” and a “victory for terror.” If they quit the coalition, it could spell the end of Netanyahu's government.
Hamas quickly welcomed Biden's speech on Friday, saying it was ready to deal “positively and constructively” with any agreement that meets its list of demands, which includes a complete Israeli withdrawal, a permanent ceasefire, the reconstruction of Gaza, the return of displaced Palestinians and a “full-fledged prisoner exchange.”
The plan as outlined by Biden does not specify who would govern Gaza after the war, which would effectively give Hamas control of the area unless another deal is reached, and Palestinian militants are likely to view it as a major strategic victory after nearly eight months of Israeli military offensives.
Israeli leaders have vowed to topple Hamas' control in Gaza since a devastating Oct. 7 attack that Israeli officials say left 1,200 people dead and 250 taken hostage inside Israel, and have said they will maintain “security control” in Gaza after the war, making a full withdrawal more difficult.
Netanyahu has repeatedly promised Israelis an “absolute victory” over Hamas, claiming in April that such an outcome was “just around the corner.” But Hamas fighters continue to wage a tenacious guerilla war against Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, and Hamas' top leaders there have thwarted Israeli attempts to capture or assassinate them.
Israeli analysts said Biden's speech was intended to bypass Netanyahu and appeal directly to the Israeli public, who polls show broadly support the war effort. While Israeli officials have put forward proposals that include a commitment to continue the ceasefire, Netanyahu faces many competing pressures at home that could force his administration to change tack, they said.
“Biden is challenging Israel: 'We expect you to move forward with this deal, and we want you to not stonewall us or pull the rug out from under us for political reasons,'” said Uzi Arad, a former national security adviser under Netanyahu. “Don't just talk, put your money where your mouth is.”
Families of hostages held in Gaza have rallied public support for a ceasefire amid growing anxiety over the fate of their loved ones, with many demonstrating in large numbers in Tel Aviv. Israeli officials say about 125 of the roughly 250 hostages remain in Gaza, and more than 30 are believed to have died.
Gil Dickman, whose cousin Carmel Gatto was kidnapped from the Be'eri kibbutz on Oct. 7 in a Hamas-led massacre, acknowledged that the deal will be hard for some Israelis to accept, but said it was important that a deal be reached to free the remaining hostages.
“If this deal doesn't happen, either because of Hamas or because of Israel, we are headed toward a forever war where we will sink deeper and deeper into a quagmire, dragging down Israelis, Palestinians and, of course, hostages,” Dickman said. “It may be now, or it may never end.”
But a deal by Mr. Netanyahu could make it harder for the coalition to hold: Some in the far-right coalition have signaled they might walk away if they decide the war is ending prematurely. And if Israel agrees to a ceasefire that allows Hamas to remain in power, even moderate Israelis will likely wonder what the Gaza offensive has actually accomplished.
Mr. Netanyahu's emergency unity government is already under threat: His rival, Benny Gantz, who formed a coalition with Mr. Netanyahu as a wartime measure, has threatened to quit unless the prime minister provides a clear plan for post-war Gaza and returns the hostages by June 8. Mr. Netanyahu has yet to signal his intention to meet Mr. Gantz's demands.
Dickman said he met Thursday with Israeli national security adviser Tsahi Hanegbi and several other hostage families. Dickman said Hanegbi told him the Israeli government was not in a position to agree to a hostage release deal that would include an end to the fighting. Hanegbi also said earlier this week that he expected the fighting to continue for several more months.
Israeli opposition parliament leader Yair Lapid urged Netanyahu to accept the deal Biden has outlined, reiterating that his party will provide Netanyahu with a “safety net” to prevent a vote of no confidence to topple the government if hardliners like National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir resign in protest over the ceasefire.
Analysts say Netanyahu is trying to avoid that scenario, which would mean relying on some of his harshest critics.
Israel and Hamas first held a week-long ceasefire in late November, during which 105 hostages and 240 Palestinian prisoners were released. Since then, the two sides have taken seemingly intractable positions: Hamas has made an end to the hostage war a condition for its release, while Israel has vowed not to accept a ceasefire until it has destroyed Hamas and allowed the hostages to return home.
Biden's ceasefire proposal would begin with a six-week halt to fighting during which Hamas would release hostages – women, elderly and wounded – held in Gaza since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7 that sparked the war. Israel would withdraw from major population centers in Gaza, release at least hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and allow at least 600 humanitarian trucks to enter the country each day.
In a first phase, hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians would return to their homes in northern Gaza for the first time in months. Israeli officials have said troops would withdraw gradually to allow them near-free return if fighting resumes. They see the proposal as a concession to Hamas, which has argued it can use the opportunity to re-establish a government in northern Gaza.
Biden said that in the second phase, Israel and Hamas would effectively end the war. Hamas would release its remaining hostages, including Israeli soldiers, in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and Israeli troops would withdraw from Gaza. In the third phase, Gaza would be rebuilt and Hamas would return the bodies of the remaining hostages.
Gershon Baskin, an Israeli activist who helped negotiate the 2011 release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier held captive by Hamas for many years, said Biden's deal underscores the need for a plan to establish an alternative Palestinian government and defeat Hamas politically.
“Ultimately, in the absence of a coherent 'tomorrow' plan to replace Hamas in the Gaza Strip, accepting this plan means capitulating to Hamas' demands,” Baskin said, but he still supports the agreement.
Biden acknowledged that there were still “some finer details to be negotiated” before moving to the second phase of the agreement – announcing a permanent ceasefire. He said Israel and Hamas would negotiate through the first phase to reach acceptable terms for a lasting cessation of hostilities.
Zoran Kanno-Youngs contributed reporting from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
