Biden description of Israel cease-fire offer 'not accurate,' Israeli official says
By: Raf Sanchez, Yuliya Talmazan, and Monica Alba (NBC News)
Yes, it is time to shift the world's attention back onto the hostages. Netanyahu cannot do that while advocating for continued military operations in Gaza. Now that Biden has volunteered to walk into his own minefield, the hard liners in Israeli can be reluctantly agreeable. The Palestinians own the crime of taking living and dead hostages. The world knows that the Palestinians are to blame even if the world wants to look away.
Biden's peace push only serves to score political points for reelection. Biden doesn't give a tinker's about peace. And that makes Biden vulnerable. Israel (and even Netanyahu) has tried the same damned thing before and during this war with the Palestinians. The Palestinians have always screwed things up. But now Netanyahu can put the responsibility for Palestinian compliance squarely on Biden's shoulders. Biden has (unwittingly?) vouched for and has assumed responsibility for Palestinians fulfilling the terms of Biden's agreement. So, how will Biden enforce Palestinian compliance?
Way to go, Joe, you've actually screwed over the American people once again. Just to score cheap political points to win reelection. And Biden doesn't give a damn about what happens after November.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
JERUSALEM — President Joe Biden's description of Israel's cease-fire proposal was "not accurate," a senior Israeli official has told NBC News, as doubts grew Monday over the U.S. ally's stance on the deal.
Biden said in a surprise announcement Friday that he was outlining a truce proposal that had been made by Israel and passed by mediators to Hamas.
But with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing competing pressures — from Washington and hostage families on one side and right-wing ministers threatening to bring down his government on the other — a senior Israeli official called into question Biden's description of the cease-fire offer.
The official specifically disputed that Israel had agreed to fully withdraw its troops from the Gaza Strip as part of a deal to free the hostages.
"Israel has not changed its conditions to reach a permanent cease-fire. That will only happen after our objectives are met including destroying Hamas's military and governing capabilities," the official said.
The official also said that while the White House described the plan as originating from Israel, it was actually a proposal put forward by mediators that Israel had made amendments and changes to.
"It's strange that they say it's an Israeli proposal and at the same time that Israel needs to agree to it," the official said. The official added that Israel was awaiting Hamas' formal response to the proposal.
A U.S. official pushed back Monday, telling NBC News that Biden had outlined the proposal Israel had offered, but also acknowledged the pressure Netanyahu would face from far-right officials and so had urged the Israeli government not to back away from it.
Biden said Friday the proposal had been sent to the militant group via Qatar, which has helped to broker talks for months.
A spokesperson for Hamas said the group "views positively" what was included in Biden's speech. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry reaffirmed Monday that Hamas viewed the proposal positively and said that everyone was waiting for Israel to respond.
Biden said that Israel had offered the "comprehensive new proposal" that would ultimately lead to a permanent cease-fire in Gaza.
The three-part plan, Biden said, would include the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza and release of a number of hostages being held inside the enclave since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack. The first phase of the plan would also see a complete six-week truce.
'You can't count your hostages until they are home'
Biden's speech has put Netanyahu under renewed pressure at home and abroad.
Two of his right-wing ministers threatened to pull out of the coalition that's keeping him in power if he agrees to the cease-fire deal outlined by Biden. Israeli media reported Monday that Netanyahu was due to meet with his hardline national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, over his threats to quit the government.
At the same time, families of the Israeli hostages have stepped up their demands for the government to make a deal that could secure the release of their loved ones.
Rachel Goldberg-Polin, whose son Hersh has been held in Gaza since Oct. 7, said Monday the proposal outlined by Biden had left her hopeful but still cautious.
"You can't count your hostages until they are home and you are hugging them," she told NBC News in an interview in Jerusalem, adding: "I'd love to think that this is the beginning of the end."
Goldberg-Polin was critical of Israeli government officials who say it is more important to continue the war than to bring the remaining hostages home. "If you believe in the righteousness to continue this, let's stop it for five hours, get out those 125, and you, you put your son, daughter, mother, brother, sister, grandfather, baby in there and continue your war with your people there," she said. "Our people have served their time in hell for nine months."
A Palestinian man rides a bicycle past damaged buildings Monday after an overnight Israeli strike in the central Gaza Strip.Eyad Baba / AFP - Getty Images
The Biden administration also continued its pressure campaign over the weekend.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and war Cabinet member Benny Gantz late Sunday, telling both that he "commended" Israel for the proposal and that the onus was now on Hamas to accept it, according to a summary of the calls released by the State Department.
A cease-fire deal would bring a much needed reprieve for Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel's military operation in Rafah has pushed more than 1 million people to flee the southern city, the United Nations' main agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said Monday.
The Israel Defense Forces said its troops were continuing "intelligence-based, targeted operations" in Rafah, after pushing deeper into the city despite U.S. warnings.
Despite Biden calling it an Israeli proposal, Netanyahu has yet to respond publicly and the country's official position was not immediately clear. NBC News has reached out to the Israeli prime minister's office for clarification.
His office released a statement Saturday saying that Israel's conditions for ending the war had not changed, and that a permanent cease-fire was a "nonstarter" until they were met.
But in an interview with Britain's Sunday Times newspaper, Ophir Falk, chief foreign policy adviser to Netanyahu, said that Israel was not rejecting the deal. It was "a deal we agreed to — it's not a good deal, but we dearly want the hostages released," Falk said.
Raf Sanchez reported from Jerusalem, Yuliya Talmazan from London, and Monica Alba from Washington.
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So, why does Biden need Israel's acceptance of their own agreement? Seems like Biden has crafted a flawed political lie. And now responsibility for Palestinian compliance with the agreement rests on Biden's shoulders. Biden's political stunt has taped a 'kick me' sign to his back.
Revel in the moment, Joe, because doing the same thing over and over has always failed. The Palestinians don't want peace; they want the destruction of Israel. And they're will to die to destroy Israel. But, Joe, the Palestinians are your stepchildren now. What are you gonna do about it, Joe?
Joe must have thought that Netanyahu would just go along.
Have you ever met someone who wants to be liked or just wants to please others? Biden must think Netanyahu is one of them.
From my admittedly unobjective interpretation of Biden's motivation, Biden seems to think that Netanyahu can either be bought or intimidated. That would be consistent with how Biden has tried to get his way in the past.
Obama tried to do the same thing that Biden is trying now. Netanyahu treated Obama to a lecture on middle east history in front of the press at the White House. Netanyahu looked Obama in the eye and politely called him an idiot in front of the press. Democrats are still pissed about that. And Netanyahu has already shrugged off threats to withhold aid by Obama and by Biden. Netanyahu doesn't seem to respond as expected to gaslighting and guilt trip politics. Netanyahu understands that accusing Jews of genocide provides a weapon that can be used against the accuser. What sort of moron would do that?
“…my admittedly unobjective interpretation of Biden's motivation,”
…really?…
No, it's a lie. Only Biden ass-kissers are truth tellers. Democrats should keep repeating that to themselves until Trump's second inauguration.
Wonder who will take over the reigns on day 2? The mystery Republican VP could be a three term President. Pretty cool, huh?
As it should be.
Which is enough time for Hamas to regroup and rearm.
Well, that's Biden's problem now. So, who will Biden throw under the bus when Palestinians do what they've done for decades? It doesn't look like Netanyahu will take the bullet for Biden.
It's beginning to look like Biden is going to throw the Abraham Accords under the bus to save a failed neoliberal policy that was never going to work.
And we've all seen the failures those turn out to be.
There's always their go to...