Offensive on Rafah, pause in negotiations with Hamas, no new elections: Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu defended his course at a press conference. In Tel Aviv, thousands again took to the streets to protest against him.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is sticking to his plans for an offensive on the city of Rafah despite international criticism. “Of course only after we will enable civilians in the combat zones to move to safe areas,” Netanyahu told reporters in Jerusalem. He emphasized that they would not bow to international pressure on the issue. Anyone calling for a renunciation of the operation in Rafah is saying that Israel should lose the war. He won’t allow this.
Netanyahu added that the offensive would also take place in the event of an agreement with Hamas to release the Israeli hostages. Even if such an agreement is reached, “we will move into Rafah,” said the head of government.
Israel is planning an offensive on the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. Around 1.3 million Palestinians live there – many have fled to the city from other parts of the sealed-off coastal strip. A number of countries, including Israel’s closest ally the USA, are calling for the offensive to be abandoned. G7 foreign ministers warned on Saturday of dramatic consequences of a possible Israeli ground operation in Rafah and called for “urgent action to address the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”
Netanyahu sees Hamas’ demands as “ridiculous”
Netanyahu said that they would not allow international parties to dictate their approach to the issue of a future peace settlement with the Palestinians. “A settlement can only be achieved through direct negotiations between both sides without preconditions,” he emphasized. Netanyahu dismissed Hamas’ demands as “ridiculous.”
“We got nothing except delusional demands from Hamas,” the prime minister said in response to a question about why Israel’s negotiators were not continuing to talk to Hamas. “There hasn’t been a nanometer of change.” Only when that changes would negotiators return.
Protest against Israeli government
Meanwhile, thousands of people again protested against his government in Tel Aviv. They called on Netanyahu to do more to free the hostages and to negotiate seriously. “I find it sad that the head of government believes that it is not necessary to send representatives to the negotiations in Cairo, where all parties and mediators are except Israel,” said protester Jair Mozes, whose father Gadi Moses is from the Hamas is being held in the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu rejected calls for new elections. “The last thing we need now is elections (…) because that will immediately divide us,” he said. “We need unity now.” The next regular election date would be in 2026.
Palestinian Country? Netanyahu vehemently opposes it
Netanyahu also responded to media reports that the United States and other allies could recognize a Palestinian state without Israeli consent. Israel under his leadership will vehemently resist such a “unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state,” said the head of government.
For Israeli President Izchak Herzog, a possible Palestinian state seems like a reward for the war that Hamas started against Israel. He said this at the Munich Security Conference.