Hamas misled Israel in hostage negotiations, Netanyahu admits in second press conf.
Hamas misled Israel in hostage negotiations, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted during his second press conference on Sunday in Hebrew.
Hamas demanded the release of Nukhba terrorists, demanded binding international guarantees not to return to fighting, and demanded Israel's withdrawal from the Strip, including from the Philadelphi Corridor. The prime minister argued that no government would accept such a deal.
Netanyahu refused to answer The Jerusalem Post twice when he was asked if he would accept a partial hostage deal. "They are going to release the 20 hostages. We talked about a partial deal, and it didn't happen. They want to release everyone, and we did," he responded.
In response to the Post's question about whether it makes sense for the IDF's chief of staff to command an operation he doesn't believe in, he said he is not willing to accept the assumption from which the question stems.
"A commander in the army is highly respected. I was a commander in Sayeret Matkal. I expressed reservations, and commanders made the decisions," the prime minister answered. "The same thing happens today – thank God we've been through a lot. I approve and encourage the military, its leadership, and all heads of security branches to express their opinions, and sometimes I am persuaded. What I decide is carried out."
The prime minister noted that the cabinet discussed an alternative plan that would see the IDF standing by and surrounding the remaining Hamas strongholds and carrying out raids, but an absolute majority of cabinet members agreed that this tactic would not return any hostages.
This press conference came following criticism from both Israel's right and left, who are both against his plan to occupy Gaza City, which he announced on Friday.
Hostage families decry day-after outline
In response to Netanyahu's repeated outline of the day-after plan at the beginning, as he did in his earlier press conference, the hostage families called the day-after outline an additional spin, saying that they are just "blowing sand in the eyes of the public.
"These are unrealistic conditions that, in practice, mean sacrificing the hostages in captivity and risking the lives of IDF soldiers for no reason."
"The only way to return the hostages is to defeat Hamas," Netanyahu argued.
"Eliminating Hamas is a condition for Israel's security and our future," he said. "We cannot leave the perpetrators of the massacre to their own devices," he said, explaining why he is determined to end the war only when Israel is victorious, and as quickly as possible.
Netanyahu said that Israel is at a historic crossroads in the Middle East. "We said we would change the face of the Middle East, and that is what we are doing," he said. He referenced the 12-Day War, Israel's pummeling of Hezbollah, and the fall of the Assad regime in Syria.
"All of this was done despite enormous pressure, both domestic and foreign, to stop the war – pressure [that existed] even before we entered Rafah," he concluded.
This is a developing story.
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