Biden says Netanyahu not doing enough to reach hostage deal

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Joe Biden said a final hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas was “very close” but that Benjamin Netanyahu was not doing enough to complete it.

Earlier, the US, Egypt and Qatar said they had planned to present a final “take it or leave it” deal to Hamas and Israel. “You can’t keep negotiating this. This process has to be called at some point,” one official told the Washington Post.

The US president’s statement came as thousands of protesters marched across Israel to demand an immediate hostage deal following the deaths of six hostages found in a tunnel under Gaza.

Roads were blocked by activists and tyres set alight, while businesses, hospitals, banks, schools and airports also faced disruption.

Grieving families have blamed Mr Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, for putting politics ahead of the safety of civilians abducted by the terror group on Oct 7 last year.

Article link: Israel protests latest: Biden says Netanyahu not doing enough to reach hostage deal

 

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Netanyahu ‘will not bow to pressure from a general strike’​

Benjamin Netanyahu has told his cabinet that Israel will not bow to the pressure of a general strike and dilute its negotiating position on a ceasefire with Hamas.

Israel’s security cabinet met on Monday afternoon as protesters staged demonstrations across the country in the wake of the killing of six hostages in Gaza on Saturday.

Mr Netanyahu told the ministers that Israel will not relent on its key demand – to keep control of the buffer zone separating Gaza from Egypt – as part of any ceasefire agreement.

The Israeli prime minister insisted there would be a “strong response” to the killing of the hostages but it would not involve ceding control of the buffer zone, known as the Phildadelphi Corridor.

Mr Netanyahu was referring to a US-led proposal that Israel would leave the corridor during the first six weeks of the first phase of a ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza.

An Israeli official told The Telegraph that Mr Netanyahu said: “Everyone who says that it is possible to leave the Philadelphi Corridor for 42 days, knows very well that it will be for 42 years.

“The world will not allow us to return. Everyone understands the importance of Philadelphi and [Hamas leader] Sinwar understands it best. That is why he insists,” Mr. Netanyahu added, according to the official.

“If we change the cabinet’s decision, it will be rewarding terrorists, you will not bring back the hostages.”

Article link is the same as the OP

 

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Israeli court orders general strike must end as protests urging a ceasefire deal continue​

A NATIONWIDE STRIKE aimed at ramping up pressure on Israel’s government to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza got underway this morning, with protesters blocking roads as many businesses across the country remained closed.

The Israeli government filed an injunction against the general strike this morning and a Tel Aviv court this afternoon ruled that the action had to come to an end by 2:30pm local time (12:30pm Irish time).

“We are issuing a nationwide order to forbid the strike that was launched, stating that the strike must stop today” effective immediately, the Tel Aviv Labour Court said in its ruling seen by AFP, citing the “politically motivated” nature of the strike.

The call by Israel’s largest union to paralyse the economy followed a night of massive demonstrations, with hundreds of thousands of protesters taking to the streets in an outpouring of grief and fury over six hostages killed in the Gaza Strip.

Article link: Israeli court orders general strike must end as protests urging a ceasefire deal continue