Netanyahu stands firm on cease-fire terms amid growing outrage in Israel
JERUSALEM — Brushing aside pleas from allies and the demands of Israeli protesters for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday vowed to keep an Israeli troop presence along the border between Egypt and Gaza, a contentious plan that appeared to dim, if not dash, prospects for a truce.
In his first news conference since the bodies of six slain hostages were recovered over the weekend, Netanyahu told reporters Monday night that, to ensure its security, Israel needed to assert control over the border in Gaza, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, calling it the lifeline of Hamas.
Hamas has said the occupation of the corridor is a nonstarter in negotiations for a truce.
“If we leave, we will not be able to return,” Netanyahu said of the corridor, as a large crowd protested near his private residence in Jerusalem on Monday night.
Netanyahu made the comments a day after the Israeli military announced that the six hostages had been found dead in a tunnel underneath the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a discovery that spread grief and outrage inside Israel and spurred both the mass protests and a widespread work stoppage.
In the hours before Netanyahu spoke Monday night, two close allies of Israel signaled their impatience with the direction of the war in Gaza.
President Joe Biden issued a one-word condemnation of Netanyahu’s unwillingness to compromise to reach a cease-fire and hostage release deal. Asked questions by reporters about whether the Netanyahu was doing enough for a deal to get back the hostages, he said, “No.”
And Britain announced it would suspend the exports of some weapons to Israel, a significant hardening of its position on the war in Gaza under a new Labour government. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the decision was based on a legal review that concluded there was a “clear risk” the weapons could be used in a way that would breach international law.
Netanyahu suggested Monday that the pursuit and killing of Hamas militants in Gaza would go on unabated. “We are close to crushing Hamas. We are crushing Hamas,” he said.
Hamas, he added, “would pay a heavy price” for the deaths of the six hostages and he questioned what message it would send if Israel let up in the fighting. “Slay hostages and you’ll get concessions?” he asked.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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