Israel: far-right rejects Gaza ceasefire proposal
Far-right Israeli ministers have urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to dismiss a proposal for a short-term Gaza ceasefire accepted by Hamas on August 18th, according to The New Arab.
Hamas has agreed to a new plan for ceasefire negotiations, which was set up by Egypt and Qatar in an attempt to stop Israel from launching a military offensive on Gaza City.
“The movement has submitted its response, agreeing to the mediators’ new proposal. We pray to God to extinguish the fire of this war on our people,” Hamas official Bassem Naim said.
A Hamas official said that that the group had accepted the ceasefire offer without requesting alterations.
Following this news, the Israeli government’s far-right contingent called for Netanyahu to dismiss the deal. Netanyahu’s cabinet – arguably the most right-wing in Israel’s history – Â has consistently impeded peace talks and diplomatic efforts aimed at reaching a lasting resolution with Hamas.
Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who is also the head of the Religious Zionism Party, declared that Israel “must not give in” to peace talks and should continue with the war.
“Continue to the end, win and bring back all the hostages in one go,” Smotrich said on social media.
Israel’s national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was more firm in his opposition to a deal.
He said: “I say to the prime minister: you have no mandate to go for a partial deal and not decisively defeat Hamas.”
Both Ben-Gvir and Smotrich have recently been sanctioned by the British government due to their extremist views.
Netanyahu has recently backtracked on his former insistence for a short-term ceasefire and is now only looking for a single deal that stops the conflict and complies with all his conditions.
On August 16th, he put his demands forward, which included the liberation of all the hostages, the disarmament of Hamas and the establishment of a Gaza administration, which is independent of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. He also called for the full demilitarisation of Gaza and Israeli control over the Gaza perimeter.
US President Donald Trump appeared to back the Israeli far-right on August 18th, writing on his Truth Social platform that the hostages will only be brought back if Hamas is “confronted and destroyed.”
All the while, centrist opposition figures and the hostages’ relatives urged Netanyahu to agree to the deal.
The New Arab, Maghrebi.org
Want to chase the pulse of North Africa?
Subscribe to receive our FREE weekly PDF magazine
