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Netanyahu Refuses ‘Surrender’ to Israeli Protesters Demanding Hostage Deal

© AP Photo / Ohad ZwigenbergIsraeli police use a water cannon to disperse demonstrators blocking the freeway during protest against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to overhaul the judicial system in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, July 5, 2023
Israeli police use a water cannon to disperse demonstrators blocking the freeway during protest against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to overhaul the judicial system in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, July 5, 2023 - Sputnik International, 1920, 03.09.2024
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The Israeli leader has continuously rejected calls to implement a peace deal to return dozens of Israeli captives to their families.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a defiant late-night speech amid mass protests in Tel Aviv Monday, rejecting pressure from the Israeli public to secure a deal to return hostages and bring about a ceasefire in Gaza.
“I will not surrender to the pressure,” said Netanyahu during the unusual press conference one day after a general strike shut down much of the country.
“No one is more committed to freeing the hostages than me. But no one will preach to me,” he added, insisting there were “certain things we won't compromise on” in negotiations with Hamas.
Key to the controversy is the question of who will maintain control over the so-called Philadelphi corridor, a narrow strip of land separating the Gaza Strip’s southern portion from Egypt. The corridor has been jointly controlled by Egypt and Palestinian authorities since Israel’s military disengagement from Gaza in 2005, with the terms of 1978’s Camp David Accords granting Egypt control of the Rafah border crossing that falls within the route.
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally at Desert Diamond Arena, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. - Sputnik International, 1920, 01.09.2024
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But the IDF has seized control of both the Philadelphi corridor and the Rafah border crossing in recent months, insisting that Israeli authority over both is necessary for security reasons. That stance has proven to be a poison pill in ongoing negotiations with Hamas as Netanyahu refuses to compromise on his establishment of a “buffer zone” along the Gazan side of the route.
“This corridor is essential for our existence,” Netanyahu said Monday. “For this reason Hamas is insisting on it. And for the same reason I’m insisting on it.”
The Israeli leader claimed weapons are smuggled into Gaza over the 8.7 mile border, allowing Hamas to maintain its armed resistance. Netanyahu has controversially allowed money and resources from Iran and Qatar to reach Hamas in an effort to strengthen the group and maintain Gaza’s political separation from the West Bank, which is overseen by the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority.
“Anyone who wants to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state has to support the bolstering of Hamas and transferring money to Hamas,” said Netanyahu during a meeting with members of his Likud party in 2019, making explicit the symbiotic relationship between the armed group and the hardline Israeli prime minister. “This is part of our strategy to isolate the Palestinians in Gaza from the Palestinians in the West Bank.”
US President Joe Biden has at times appeared flustered by Netanyahu’s intransigence amid months of unfruitful peace talks between Israel and Hamas, while Israeli military officials have publicly rebuked the prime minister for his effective sabotage of a hostage deal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu  - Sputnik International, 1920, 30.10.2023
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Critics have claimed Netanyahu is merely stalling for time, working to prolong hostilities in Gaza in an effort to maintain his grip on power. The Israeli leader faces prosecution on corruption charges if he is forced to step down from his position.
Observers have speculated Netanyahu is attempting to “run out the clock” until November elections in the United States, after which Donald Trump’s possible return to the White House would provide him with more latitude in solving the Palestinian question.
Provocative attacks on leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah on foreign soil have led to speculation the prime minister is seeking to provoke a regional conflict during which the US would presumably come to Israel’s support. Netanyahu has long attempted to goad the United States into a war against Iran, traditionally Israel’s most powerful and influential critic in the region.
About 101 Israeli captives are thought to remain in Gaza after Hamas’ surprise operation on October 7, during which several dozen hostages were taken back to the Palestinian territory. Meanwhile Israel continues to hold more than 3,600 Palestinians, many of them children, in so-called administrative detention without charge.
Recent polling reveals Netanyahu enjoys the approval of about 29% of the Israeli public.
Yazan Kafarneh on his hospital bed in Rafah, southern Gaza, on Sunday. By Monday, he was dead. - Sputnik International, 1920, 10.03.2024
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