The hope of a truce is fading a little further. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced this Sunday that he refused Hamas’ request demanding that the truce agreement currently under discussion in Cairo provide for a definitive end to hostilities in the Gaza Strip. At the same time, he cut the broadcast of Al-Jazeera, a channel from Qatar, one of the mediating countries in the conflict. A look back at a high-tension day.
Netanyahu’s statement…
“When Israel shows its good will, Hamas persists in its extreme positions, led by its demand for the withdrawal of our forces from the Gaza Strip, the end of the war and the preservation of Hamas. Israel cannot accept this,” declared Benjamin Netanyahu during a Council of Ministers. In his words, “capitulating” to the demands of the Palestinian movement would represent “a terrible defeat” for Israel.
While efforts for a truce are increasing, Benjamin Netanyahu continues to proclaim his intention to lead a ground offensive on Rafah which constitutes, according to him, the last major Hamas stronghold in Gaza. Emmanuel Macron, who “spoke by telephone” with Benjamin Netanyahu, “encouraged” the latter “to carry out these negotiations which could lead to the release of hostages, the protection of civilians through a cease-fire and to regional de-escalation. In vain.
Hamas’ response
A few hours before the resumption of negotiations in Cairo on Sunday, a Hamas official affirmed that his movement would “under no circumstances accept an agreement that does not explicitly provide for an end to the war”. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement that Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to “invent constant justifications for the continuation of the aggression, the extension […] of the conflict and the sabotage of the efforts made by the various mediators and parties.”
The closed Al-Jazeera channel, a strong symbol
At the same time, Benjamin Netanyahu announced his government’s “unanimous” decision to close the Al-Jazeera channel, a channel from Qatar, one of the mediating countries in the conflict. By late afternoon, she was no longer available. A strong symbol which further distances the hope of finding an agreement in this conflict.
The Israeli military has repeatedly claimed that Al-Jazeera journalists are “terrorist agents” affiliated with Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad in Gaza. The channel denies these accusations and accuses Israel of systematically targeting its employees in the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s decision is “a retaliatory measure against the role […] “what does Al-Jazeera play in highlighting the crimes” of the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, said the Palestinian Islamist movement in a statement, denouncing “the culmination of a war against journalists from Israel”, with the “aim of hiding the truth”.