Israel Netanyahu wants to force Hamas to make concessions
Less than a week before his planned trip to Washington, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for further pressure on the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
19.07.2024, 04:39
SDA
"The military pressure that is being applied here, on the throat of Hamas, is helping us (...) to advance the hostage deal," he said during a visit to troops in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
The dual pressure of decisive military action and "unwavering insistence on our just demands" would "not delay but advance" an agreement to free 120 hostages held by Hamas, he added.
Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, in which Egypt, Qatar and the USA are mediating, have been going on for months. They revolve around a three-stage plan that envisages the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails as well as ways towards a permanent ceasefire. Participants in the indirect talks had recently shown cautious optimism. However, no further high-level meetings have been announced at present.
Explosion in Tel Aviv
Meanwhile, according to media reports, there was a serious explosion in the Israeli coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv during the night. Eyewitnesses reported a loud bang near a branch of the US embassy. Surrounding buildings were damaged. The cause of the explosion was initially unclear. According to unconfirmed media reports, it could have been a drone attack. According to the Israeli military, it is investigating the incident.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague is due to present an expert opinion on the legality of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories today.
New demands from the head of government
Netanyahu's new demands, which were not included in the original plan, are likely to have triggered the renewed standstill in the indirect talks. These include leaving Israeli troops in strategic positions in the Gaza Strip for longer or permanently. Netanyahu recently demanded that Israeli units in the middle of the sealed-off coastal strip must ensure that no Hamas militiamen return from the south to the north of the territory. Israeli soldiers would also have to remain in parts of Rafah to control the border with Egypt.
During his previously unannounced troop visit on Thursday, Netanyahu echoed the same sentiment. He felt strengthened in his conviction that Israel's control over the Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah border crossing is of crucial importance for the next phase in the fight against Hamas, Netanyahu said in a video recording from the scene released by the Prime Minister's Office.
The Philadelphi Corridor is a strip about twelve kilometers long that runs along the Gaza side of the border with Egypt. Israel assumes that Hamas has supplied itself with weapons, goods and money through tunnels running under the corridor. The border crossing to Egypt has been closed since May, after Israeli troops occupied the Gaza side. Egypt, the mediator, is strictly opposed to parts of Rafah remaining under Israeli occupation permanently.
Citing high-ranking Israeli officials, journalist Barak Ravid wrote in the news portal "walla.co.il" that the mediators Egypt and Qatar wanted to know from Israel whether the new demands made by Netanyahu were "political" or substantial conditions. In the next few days, Israeli negotiators will travel to Doha and Cairo to convey Israel's actual position.
Netanyahu is reacting in a coalition with ultra-religious and far-right partners who are threatening to break up the government alliance if the head of government makes concessions to Hamas. Early elections could cost Netanyahu his office. Court proceedings for alleged corruption could even land him in prison.
Tactics to retain the prime minister's seat
In the Prime Minister's Office, Ravid continues, there are assurances that Netanyahu is genuinely interested in a hostage agreement. At the same time, he has completely taken over the relevant agendas, reserving every decision for himself. It is not clear to many officials whether the prime minister is "playing for time" or really wants to make progress.
Some assume that Netanyahu does not want to finalize a deal before the start of the summer recess of parliament, the Knesset. This begins at the end of July and lasts three months. During this time, it would not be possible to bring down the government if the ultra-right-wing coalition partners were to break away.
The war was triggered by the massacre in Israel carried out by terrorists from Hamas and other groups on October 7. They killed around 1,200 Israelis and deported around 250 other people to the Gaza Strip. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, almost 39,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war. The figure, which does not distinguish between civilians and fighters, cannot currently be independently verified.
Keynote speech to US Congress
Next Wednesday, Netanyahu intends to give a speech to both chambers of the US Congress on Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip. The leaders of both parties in the US parliament have invited Netanyahu to do so. He is also expected to meet with US President Joe Biden, the communications director of the National Security Council, John Kirby, announced on Thursday. Biden and Netanyahu last met in person in Tel Aviv last fall, shortly after the Hamas attacks on October 7.
Meanwhile, Israel continued its attacks in Gaza and Lebanon. In the Al-Saitun district in the city of Gaza, the army reportedly attacked several Hamas fighters who had been using a building abandoned by the UN Palestine Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) as their local headquarters.
Targeted killings in Lebanon
In the Lebanese Bekaa Valley, the Israeli military reportedly killed a Hamas member active in Lebanon. The Palestinian militia confirmed the death of its "martyr". Mohammed Jabara was responsible for attacks and rocket attacks on Israel, the Israeli military announced. According to Lebanese reports, the man was killed when his vehicle was hit from the air and caught fire.
Later on Thursday evening, an Israeli airstrike destroyed a house in the southern Lebanese village of Jamamije. The commander of a local Hezbollah unit and three of his bodyguards were killed, Lebanese security sources confirmed. The Shiite militia confirmed the death of its commander Habib Matuk. Israel also confirmed the targeted killing of the Hezbollah man.
Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia have been fighting almost daily since the beginning of the Gaza war. There have been casualties on both sides. Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran, says it is acting in solidarity with Hamas, which is also active in Lebanon. There have long been fears that the conflict could escalate.
This will be important today
The ICJ in The Hague will today present an expert opinion on the legality of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. Such an opinion is not legally binding. However, if the 15 highest UN judges in The Hague find that Israel is violating international law, this could increase international political pressure on Israel. Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip after the Six-Day War in 1967.
The UN General Assembly had already tasked the ICJ with determining the legal consequences of Israel's occupation policy in 2022 - long before the start of the current Gaza war in October 2023.
