US President Joe Biden has said on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is not taking sufficient steps to reach an agreement to release people held captive by Hamas in Gaza.
According to the news agency Reuters, in a conversation with reporters at the White House, Joe Biden also said that the United States is close to presenting a final proposal to the negotiators working on the cease-fire agreement.
President Biden made this statement at a time when Israeli forces recovered the bodies of six prisoners from a tunnel in Gaza on Saturday, including 23-year-old American-Israeli Harsh Goldberg Pollan.
The Israeli army says they were recently killed by Hamas.
Since then, the Biden administration’s Gaza ceasefire strategy has come under fire, and Israeli pressure has increased on Netanyahu to repatriate the remaining prisoners.
Asked if he thought Netanyahu was trying hard enough to reach a deal to release the prisoners, Biden replied: ‘No.’ However, he did not elaborate on his statement.
Asked about President Biden’s statement, Netanyahu appeared to backtrack, saying the pressure should be on Hamas, not Israel, especially after the deaths of the prisoners.
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During a news conference in Occupied Jerusalem, Netanyahu said, ‘Now after this we are being asked to show seriousness? We have been asked to give concessions? What message does this send to Hamas? Kill more prisoners.’
Netanyahu said he doesn’t believe Biden or anyone serious about peace will ask for more concessions from Israel and that Hamas needs to do so instead.
Asked if he planned to present a final deal to both sides (Israel and Hamas) this week to release the prisoners, Biden told reporters: ‘We’re very close to it.’
When asked if a deal would be successful, he added, ‘There’s always hope.’
Later in the evening, Joe Biden said he plans to talk to Netanyahu “eventually,” but gave no clear timeline when asked. Biden and Netanyahu have spoken several times during Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
The White House said Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris also met with a U.S. detainee negotiation team, during which the president expressed his “disappointment and anger” at the death of the detainees and efforts to free the remaining detainees. Discussed the next steps.
President Biden’s recent criticism of Netanyahu comes as he and Kamala Harris, who is running for president on the Democratic Party ticket in the Nov. 5 presidential election, have been accused of killing nearly 11 of Israel’s residents in Gaza. There is a growing demand for decisive action to end the month-long aggression.
The dispute has created divisions among Democrats and many progressives who are pressing Biden to limit or at least impose conditions on arms supplies to Israel, America’s main ally in the Middle East.
Israel and Hamas answer to Biden
Senior Israeli sources say it is noteworthy that Biden is pressing Netanyahu for a deal on the prisoners rather than Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Responding to Israel’s statement, a US official said that while Biden had made it clear that Hamas was responsible for the deaths of the prisoners, he was also calling on the Israeli government to act immediately to release the missing prisoners. are.’
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zehri said Biden’s criticism of Netanyahu was “an admission by the United States that Netanyahu is responsible for undermining efforts to reach a deal.”
He said that the group would give a positive response to the proposal, which would enable a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of Israel from the Palestinian territories.
Netanyahu, who has accused Hamas of obstructing any deal, said over the weekend that ‘whoever killed the prisoners doesn’t want a deal.’
Israeli protesters took to the streets for a second day on Monday, and the largest trade union launched a general strike to pressure the government to sign a prisoner return deal. Thousands of Palestinian activists protesting America’s support for Israel also protested in New York City on Monday.
Months of negotiations mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt have so far failed to reach an agreement on a Gaza ceasefire proposal presented by Biden in May.
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old conflict between Israel and Palestine began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched an attack on Israel, killing nearly 1,200 people and taking 250 prisoners.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 40,000 Palestinians have died in Israel’s attack, while 2.3 million people have been displaced, which has led to famine.
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2024-09-03 14:12:58
