2/9/2024–|Last update: 2/9/202406:27 PM (Makkah Time)
The US President said Joe Biden Today, Monday, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “Not doing enough” to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza Strip And the exchange of prisoners, indicating that a final agreement is close to being reached in this regard.
“We are very close to reaching an agreement, and I don’t think Netanyahu is doing enough about it,” Biden was quoted as telling reporters in Washington by Israel’s Army Radio.
This comes as the Washington Post quoted US officials as saying that Biden’s continued pressure has taken on a new form after the Israeli army announced the recovery of the bodies of 6 detainees, including the body of Israeli-American Hirsch Goldberg-Pholin, noting that Washington plans to present a final “take it or leave it” proposal to stop the war in Gaza.
The sources added that Washington is consulting with Doha and Cairo regarding the features of this proposal that it will present in the coming weeks, and that Israel or Hamas’s failure to accept this agreement could mean the end of the American-led negotiations.
Dangerous statements
Commenting on Biden’s statements, an Israeli official told Maariv newspaper that they were “dangerous statements, especially since they come days after the execution of agitation 6 hostages, including an American.
Israeli media also quoted an unnamed political official as saying, “It is strange that Biden is pressuring Netanyahu, and not… The Sinwar “Deal rejecter”.
In contrast, the Israeli Prisoners Authority in Gaza said that Biden’s statements were “proof that Netanyahu is obstructing reaching a deal,” according to Israel’s Channel 12.
Biden’s statements come as massive demonstrations are taking place in Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv, demanding a prisoner exchange deal and putting pressure on the government, after the announcement of the killing of 6 Israeli detainees in a tunnel in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, which Hamas said were killed by Israeli army fire.
It also coincides with a strike in Israel by the Histadrut trade union federation, which began Monday morning, but the Tel Aviv court decided to end it in response to the government’s request.
The ceasefire negotiations in Gaza have reached a critical stage, due to Netanyahu’s insistence on continuing the war on the Strip, and not withdrawing from the two axes. Netzarim andPhiladelphia Central and southern Gaza Strip, while Hamas insists on ending the war, returning the displaced, and the Israeli withdrawal from the entire Gaza Strip.
