High Information
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drew criticism in Israel on Monday after he reiterated his opposition to a everlasting cease-fire with Hamas, simply as hopes had been rising {that a} truce might be inside attain.
Critics mentioned his intervention narrowed the possibilities of a deal by which Hamas, which seeks a everlasting truce, would free no less than a number of the Israeli hostages nonetheless held in Gaza.
Negotiations over a deal continued on Monday in Cairo, the place Israeli officers gathered for talks mediated by the Egyptian authorities. After months of failed negotiations, hopes for a deal had been revived final week amid experiences that Hamas had develop into extra versatile on key areas, main Israeli officers to fly to Qatar, one other mediator between Hamas and Israel.
However Mr. Netanyahu’s assertion on Sunday night time dampened these expectations, because it appeared to reduce the possibilities of a compromise with Hamas over the size and permanence of the cease-fire.
“Any deal will permit Israel to renew combating till all the targets of the battle have been achieved,” his assertion mentioned, reiterating his long-held place that the battle should proceed till Israel has destroyed Hamas’s navy and governing talents.
To Mr. Netanyahu’s critics, his intervention — at such a delicate second within the negotiations — risked derailing the efforts to safe the discharge of roughly 120 hostages Israeli officers say are nonetheless held in Gaza, each lifeless and alive, after being captured by Hamas and its allies firstly of the battle in October.
“We’re at a vital second within the negotiations. The lives of the hostages depend upon them. Why problem such provocative statements?” Yair Lapid, the opposition chief, wrote on social media. “How does that contribute to the method?”
Analysts mentioned that Mr. Netanyahu’s intervention confirmed how he’s making an attempt to stability the hassle to free the hostages along with his need to carry collectively his coalition of ultranationalist and ultrareligious political events.
Mr. Netanyahu’s grip on energy depends on the help of two far-right events against any settlement that would depart Hamas in energy in Gaza. Critics say this has made him cautious of committing to a hostage launch deal that might result in the collapse of his coalition and immediate early elections that polling suggests he would lose.
“The easy reality is as follows: Benjamin Netanyahu doesn’t need a hostage deal,” Ben Caspit, a biographer and outstanding critic of the prime minister, wrote on social media. “He could be prepared to get the hostages again, however not on the expense of his coalition’s well-being. It’s that easy.”
Others extra sympathetic to Mr. Netanyahu say he could also be utilizing hardball negotiating techniques with the intention to pressure greater compromises from Hamas. With every passing day, Israel’s navy operation within the southern Gaza metropolis of Rafah additional weakens Hamas’s place there, mentioned Nadav Shtrauchler, a former strategist for the prime minister. “The efforts of the navy in Gaza could assist him get extra from Hamas,” Mr. Shtrauchler mentioned.
Moreover, Mr. Netanyahu could also be making an attempt to stave off the collapse of his coalition till the top of July, when Parliament goes on recess. With no sitting Parliament, lawmakers would discover it far tougher to deliver down the federal government, giving Mr. Netanyahu extra room to strike a deal that his coalition companions would possibly resist, Mr. Shtrauchler mentioned.
“He’s making an attempt to create room for maneuver — and for that, he wants time,” Mr. Shtrauchler mentioned.
Gabby Sobelman contributed reporting from Rehovot, Israel.
