Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once again finds himself on the defensive in response to an article published Tuesday in The New York Times claiming he has added new conditions to the May 27 proposal for a hostage release deal with Hamas.
Citing “unpublished documents” sent to the negotiators on July 27 detailing Israel’s negotiating positions reviewed by the news outlet, the article claims that Netanyahu has added five new conditions, while listing only two of them, with no reference to those that are missing.
Within hours, Netanyahu’s office refuted the article with a detailed statement.
“The charge that Prime Minister Netanyahu added new conditions to the May 27 proposal is false,” his office said bluntly.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu’s July 27 letter does not introduce extra conditions and certainly does not contradict or undermine the May 27 proposal. In fact, Hamas is the one that demanded 29 changes to the May 27 proposal, something the Prime Minister refused to do.
“Here are the facts:
1. The Netzarim Crossing
“The May 27 proposal stipulates that only unarmed civilians will be permitted to cross the Netzarim corridor to Northern Gaza. The July 27 letter stipulates that an agreed upon mechanism should be established to assure this (something that was initially raised by the US mediator). The letter not only does not contradict the May 27 proposal, it facilitates it.”
2. Number of Living Hostages to be Released
“The May 27 proposal stipulates that a specific number of hostages will be released “living or dead”. Israel’s position in the July 27 letter stipulates that all the living hostages in the relevant category should be released, again fully conforming to the May 27 proposal.”
3. The way Palestinian prisoners will be released
“The May 27 proposal stipulates that Israel will have a veto over a certain number of released prisoners and can designate that at least a certain number of prisoners will be released abroad. The July 27 letter fully conforms with this condition as well.”
The Prime Minister’s Office notes the July 27 letter “does not introduce new terms. To the contrary, it includes essential clarifications to help implement the May 27 proposal.”
One of the two conditions listed by The New York Times not mentioned in the above list refers to Israel’s control over the Philadelphi Corridor, a strip of land on Gaza’s southern border that was intended to act as a buffer between the enclave and Egypt, but which instead had become “Smuggler Central”, honeycombed with sophisticated tunnels allowing terrorist “imports” of advanced Iranian weapons and other ordnance, along with terror personnel, military consultants and upscale luxury items.
Several months ago, Israeli forces seized control over this area and have since been systematically uncovering, searching and dismantling the tunnels that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has repeatedly said provide military “oxygen” to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
According to the news outlet, Israel pledged on May 27 the “withdrawal of Israeli forces eastwards away from densely populated areas along the borders in all areas of the Gaza Strip.”
If one examines the above language, it is clear to see that withdrawal from “densely populated areas” does not include a commitment to abandon control over the Philadelphi Corridor, which would simply enable Hamas to reassert its smugglers’ economy and import more weapons to again attack the Jewish State. The area is largely unpopulated.
Details of the fifth alleged “added condition” referred to by the news outlet are still not clear.
What is clear, however, is the intent of the article: The New York Times cited “Israeli critics” who claimed Netanyahu is prioritizing the stability of his coalition government above the freedom of the hostages with the alleged changes — which are not changes at all.
Vociferous critics of the Netanyahu coalition — elected by a higher majority than any other Israeli government in the past five years — are the only ones with something to gain if Israel’s democratically elected government is overthrown.
