JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office released a statement Saturday that appeared to contradict President Biden’s comments about ending the war in Gaza.
Netanyahu’s office said Israel’s conditions for ending the war remained unchanged: the destruction of Hamas’ military and governing capabilities, the release of all hostages and a guarantee that Gaza would no longer be a threat to Israel.
In the second part Statement posted on X, “It is not possible that Israel would agree to a permanent ceasefire before these conditions are met,” his office added.
In a White House speech on Friday, President Biden laid out “a road map for a lasting ceasefire and the release of all hostages,” which he said was the result of intensive diplomatic negotiations conducted by a U.S. team with leaders of Israel, Qatar, Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries.
Netanyahu invited to address parliament as Biden urges Hamas to accept Israeli peace offer
President Biden stands between a photo of an Israel Defense Forces tank and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (AP Getty Images)
Biden said plans for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the return of all hostages to Israel and the rebuilding of war-torn areas – without allowing Hamas to return to power in any form – were part of a “comprehensive new proposal” that Israel had already presented to Hamas.
Both Israel and Hamas responded hesitantly to President Biden’s challenge to end the war in Gaza for good and free the 125 people held hostage by the Iranian-backed terrorist group during the brutal Oct. 7 attack on Israel, but critics were quick to point out the plan’s flaws.
Critics have already pounced on Biden’s proposal. Richard Goldberg, a former member of Trump’s National Security Council staff and senior adviser to the FDD, told Fox News Digital, “To be clear, the president simply repackaged the Hamas proposal as an Israeli proposal supported by the U.S., presumably thinking that this would make Israel’s surrender to Hamas more palatable to Israel.”
Palestinian Hamas terrorists are spotted during a military show in Gaza City on July 20, 2017. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
Israeli forces announced Thursday that they had taken control of the so-called “Philadelphia Corridor,” an eight-mile stretch of land along the Gaza-Egypt border. Israel said the move was aimed at weakening Hamas by cutting off tunnels used to smuggle arms and ammunition into the Palestinian enclave. The attack also marks another blow to Hamas, whose ability to govern has steadily deteriorated throughout the eight-month war while it has consistently rejected ceasefire offers.
In a statement on Saturday, Hamas said it supported the president’s plan, particularly “his call for a permanent ceasefire; [Israeli] “Withdrawal of troops from the Gaza Strip, reconstruction, and prisoner exchange.”
Israeli army announces end of fighting in parts of northern Gaza
The IDF said its forces were continuing operations against terrorist targets in the Rafah area. (Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson’s Office)
Biden’s speech surprised many in Israel, with many Israelis turning off their cellphones and televisions at the start of the Jewish Sabbath, leading Israeli news commentators to question whether Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office had been informed that the president was going to deliver such a speech.
As Netanyahu explained the plan live on air, some questioned why he had privately leaked details of the proposal to Hamas, which he had said the previous day had rejected Israel’s proposal.
There was also confusion about whether Biden was indeed presenting the same plan approved by Netanyahu’s government, or a revised version.
A National Security Council spokesman told Fox News Digital that similar plans were in place.
Photos of loved ones held captive by Hamas are displayed during a press conference for Defending Israel Democracy UK at the Plaza Westminster Bridge hotel in London, Thursday, October 12, 2023. Pictured are Sharon Lifshitz and Noam Sagi, British Israelis living in London, whose parents are held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. (Lucy North/PA Images via Getty Images)
In his speech, the president said the plan has three phases. The first phase, which will take six weeks, will see a complete ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from populated areas of the Gaza Strip, and the release of many hostages. In return, Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and allow Gaza civilians to return to their homes and the strip in general.
He said there would be a surge in humanitarian aid, with “600 trucks delivering aid to Gaza every day.”
The second phase would see the release of all remaining hostages, including male soldiers, followed by a permanent ceasefire, and the third phase would see the extensive rebuilding of the Gaza Strip, which has been largely destroyed in eight months of fighting.
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Families of Americans taken hostage by Hamas in the Oct. 7 terror attack in Israel — Ronen Neutra, Ruby Chen, Jonathan Dekel Chen, Liz Naftali, Adi Alexander, Orna Neutra and Yael Alexander — speak to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House on Dec. 13, 2023. The families have been invited to a private meeting with President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said “President Biden’s important speech cannot be ignored” and urged the government to consider the proposal.
“There is an agreement on the negotiating table and it needs to be reached. I remind Netanyahu that we have given him a ‘safety net’ to get the agreement through if Ben Gvir and Smotrich leave the government,” Lapid said, referring to hardline government ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich who are likely to reject any proposal by Israel to end the war without completely defeating Hamas.
Fox News’ Peter Aitken contributed to this report.
