Israel’s Netanyahu rejects Hamas ceasefire demand, opposes Palestinian statehood
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video statement in which he said he rejects Hamas demands for a ceasefire, Israeli forces’ withdrawal and the release of Palestinians held by Israel.
A majority of Israelis support the U.S.-proposed peace plan calling for release of all hostages and the eventual establishment of a demilitarized Palestinian state, according to a poll released Monday.
The survey was conducted on behalf of the Geneva Initiative, an international organization that supports a two-state solution. More than 51% of respondents said they would back the deal while 29% said they would oppose it. About 20% off the 500 Israeli’s surveyed said they didn’t know.
The plan would also provide for normalized relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which would be among a group of Arab nations that would aid in the reconstruction of postwar Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, has repeatedly pledged that Israel will retain security control over Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Netanyahu has doubled down on the pledge repeatedly since Oct. 7, when Hamas-led militants stormed across the border from Gaza, killing about 1,200 people and seizing over 240. More than 130 remain captive in Gaza. The attack ignited the war that the Gaza Health Ministry says has killed 25,000 Palestinians.
“The survey shows a clear picture,” the Geneva Initiative said in a statement. “In exchange for regional security and the return of the abductees, the Israeli public is ready to accept a demilitarized Palestinian state. Now, Israel must say yes to President Biden, and not to (conservative Israeli) ministers.”
Netanyahu says no to a Palestinian state, won’t give in to ‘Hamas monsters’: Updates
Developments:
∎ A no-confidence vote on the government submitted by the Knesset’s Labor faction gained only 18 of the required 61 votes. Many lawmakers dismissed the action as politically motivated and refused to vote.
∎ The Israeli military announced the death of three more soldiers, raising the total since the invasion began to 198.
Relatives and supporters of militant-held hostages burst into the Israeli parliament and massed outside Netanyahu’s home on Monday to demand more action aimed at freeing their loved ones.
“You will not sit here while our children die,” the protesters chanted at a meeting of the Knesset Finance Committee. Security officers failed to prevent the room from being overrun, forcibly removing some angry family members waving photos of the captives.
Noa Rahamim, whose cousin Sgt. Matan Angrest is being held in Gaza, told The Times of Israel the protesters disrupted proceedings to ensure their voices were heard. Committee chairman MK Moshe Gafni pledged to relay the concerns to Netanyahu, adding that he would “do everything” to bring the captives homes.
“Every day we receive body bags,” said Aviram Meir, the uncle of hostage Almog Meir Jan. “We have been forgotten among the country’s endless problems. And this is the most urgent problem, above all other problems.”
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called on Netanyahu, whose popularity has tanked since the Oct. 7 attack, to negotiate a date for new elections. Lapid said Israel needs change, but that it can happen “without tearing the people apart.”
“It’s time for the leadership to set an example that it can be done differently,” Lapid said. “Netanyahu, let’s save all the politics for the people of Israel. … We will set the rules of the game, we will set up how to manage it so that it does not harm the war effort.”
