Netanyahu rejects Hamas’ demand for Israeli withdrawal from Gaza-Egypt border area

JERUSALEM

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas on Sunday of obstructing a cease-fire and hostage exchange deal by insisting on Israeli withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor on the border between Gaza and Egypt.

“We have not added any demand to the draft, Hamas is the one who demanded to include dozens of changes,” Netanyahu claimed during a Cabinet meeting.

Recent Israeli media reports, citing unnamed sources, blamed Netanyahu for derailing Gaza cease-fire talks with Hamas by insisting on conditions not included in the original plan.

“They [rumors] create a false scene as if Hamas had agreed to a deal, and it is the Israeli government that opposes it,” he claimed. “I’m willing to go a very long way to free all of our captives, while maintaining Israel's security.”

The Israeli premier insisted that Tel Aviv will not withdraw its army forces from the Philadelphi Corridor.

“Hamas demands from us to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah crossing,” he said. “We are not leaving there.”

“Anyone who, like us, wants the release of our captives should direct the pressure on Hamas, not on the Israeli government,” he added.

On Saturday night, an Israeli security delegation led by Mossad chief David Barnea returned from Egypt after negotiations with Egyptian security officials regarding a hostage exchange deal with Hamas.

According to Israeli news website Walla, the delegation's trip to Cairo was "the result of intense American pressure on Israel in recent days to continue the negotiations."

The broadcaster said Nitzan Alon, the head of the military’s hostage file, did not join the Israeli delegation due to “his belief that Netanyahu's hardline stance would not lead to real progress.”

Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas mediated by the US, Qatar, and Egypt have failed to agree on a permanent cease-fire that allows a prisoner swap between Israelis and Palestinians.

So far, efforts by the three countries to mediate an agreement between Israel and Hamas have been hampered by Netanyahu's rejection of Hamas' call to halt hostilities.

In early June, US President Joe Biden unveiled an Israeli proposal “to cease fighting and release all hostages," which Hamas accepted at the time, according to Israeli media.

However, Netanyahu added new conditions that Barnea and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant believed would hinder reaching an agreement.

A US official said Saturday that Netanyahu was “ungrateful” towards the US and had lied about a Gaza hostage deal.

"Biden realized that Netanyahu was lying to him about the hostages," the official told Haaretz.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an attack last October by Hamas.

Nearly 39,600 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and nearly 91,400 injured, according to local health authorities.

Almost 10 months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi