Tuesday, The New York Times reported that unpublished documents showed that Israel conveyed a list of five new conditions in a letter dated July 27., externalwhich is in addition to the principles I set out on May 27 and Biden presented days later.
The May proposal spoke of “the withdrawal of Israeli forces eastward away from populated areas along the border in all areas of the Gaza Strip,” she said, but the July letter included a map indicating that Israel would remain in control of the Philadelphi Corridor.
The report also said the letter added a condition that an agreed mechanism be established to ensure that only unarmed civilians returning to northern Gaza would be allowed to pass through the Israeli-controlled Netzarim corridor, which effectively divides the area in two.
In response to the report, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement saying that the accusations against him of adding new conditions were “false.”, externalHe described them instead as “basic clarifications.”
The newspaper added that “Prime Minister Netanyahu’s letter on July 27 does not include additional conditions and certainly does not contradict or undermine the May 27 proposal. In fact, Hamas is the one that demanded 29 amendments to the May 27 proposal, which the prime minister rejected,” without providing details about Hamas’ demands.
Later Tuesday, President Biden acknowledged that negotiations had “become difficult,” but vowed that he would “not give up.”
He also said he believed the agreement would help avert the possibility that Iran, Hamas’s main backer, would retaliate against Israel for the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh.
When a reporter asked him if Iran “might stop working if a ceasefire agreement was possible,” he replied: “That’s my expectation, but we’ll see.”
Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in the assassination of the Hamas leader, warned Iran that it would “impose a heavy price on any aggression.” Iran has rejected Western calls for restraint and insisted that “a punitive response to the aggressor is a legitimate right.”
Haniyeh succeeded Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar, who was one of the masterminds behind the October 7 attack. Sinwar “was and remains the sole obstacle to reaching an agreement on the hostages,” Netanyahu said Monday.
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