Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview Sunday night on Israeli television that the tense phase of Israel’s war against Hamas “is nearing an end,” although he stressed that did not mean the war was over. The conflict is about to end.
After the operation in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city and the latest focus of Israel’s ground offensive, the Prime Minister said Israel would continue to “mow the grass” – a term long used in Israeli security circles to demonstrate the use of force to limit military activities. the rise of militant organizations.
Netanyahu’s comments are the latest suggestion by senior Israeli officials that the war could soon enter a period of change.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant traveled to Washington to meet with Biden administration officials, which he said would include discussion of “the transition to ‘Phase C’ in Gaza.”
While the Israeli military has said it is close to dismantling or severely reducing Hamas’s military infrastructure, the government has yet to propose any clear plan for post-war management of Gaza.
Netanyahu suggested in the interview that a post-war civilian administration would involve local Palestinians, hoping to gain the help of moderate Arab nations. The Israeli military will have to maintain overall security control over the area, he said.
The prime minister continued to rule out a proposal that has been pushed by the Biden administration: handing Gaza over to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited autonomy in parts of the occupied West Bank.
To get to “the day after Hamas,” Netanyahu said, “you must first eliminate Hamas” – reiterating his long-standing position that the armed group must be completely destroyed, a goal that many experts say is unattainable.
The prime minister’s comments came during a 44-minute interview he gave to “The Patriots,” a populist and often divisive nightly talk show on The Patriots channel. Channel 14a right-wing Israeli television station serving Netanyahu’s voter base.
Netanyahu has rarely been interviewed in Hebrew for Israeli audiences since the start of the war. He has faced domestic criticism for frequently giving interviews to American networks while interacting with Israelis mainly through sporadic televised statements and press conferences or through video clips.
Mr. Netanyahu also mentioned stalled ceasefire negotiations in the interview, suggesting that at one point he was willing to reach a “partial” agreement to return only some of the 120 hostages being held. detained in Gaza – a claim that his office quickly backed off.
The Prime Minister said he was willing to agree to a temporary truce and release some hostages, then continue the war. That proposal appears to contradict an Israeli proposal approved last month by Netanyahu and his war cabinet for a phased deal to release all hostages and lead to a permanent ceasefire. far – a proposal that has been endorsed by President Biden and the Trump administration. United Nations Security Council.
But at another point in Sunday’s interview, Netanyahu said he was committed to bringing back all remaining hostages, at least a third of whom Israel said died in captivity.
In a brief statement issued after the interview, Netanyahu’s office said it was Hamas that opposed a deal, not Israel, adding: “Prime Minister Netanyahu has made it clear that we will not leave Gaza until all 120 of our hostages, dead and alive, are returned.”
The Forum for Families of Hostages and Missing Persons, an organization that advocates for hostages, condemned Mr. Netanyahu’s comments in the interview, saying that not moving forward with the ceasefire proposal “abandons 120 hostages and violates the law.” violates the state’s moral obligations to its citizens”.
“The families of the hostages will not allow the government and its leaders to back away from fundamental commitments to the fate of our loved ones,” the group said in a statement. “The responsibility and obligation to return all hostages lies with the prime minister.”
Johnatan Reiss And Adam Rasgon Report contributions.
