Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US envoy Brett McGurk on Wednesday that Israel remains committed to the hostage release deal outlined by US President Joe Biden, as long as “red lines are not crossed.”
Netanyahu met with President Joe Biden’s special envoy for the Middle East on Wednesday at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, where the two men discussed “regional issues,” according to a statement.
Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew also participated in the meeting.
“Regarding the negotiations, the Prime Minister emphasized his commitment to a deal as long as Israel’s red lines are preserved,” the Prime Minister’s Office said. Those “red lines,” announced by Netanyahu earlier this week, are:
1. Any deal will allow Israel to resume fighting until all of objectives of the war have been achieved.
2. There will be no smuggling of weapons to Hamas from Egypt to the Gaza border.
3. There will be no return of thousands of armed terrorists to the northern Gaza Strip.
4. Israel will maximize the number of living hostages who will be released from Hamas captivity.
“The plan that has been agreed to by Israel and which has been welcomed by President Biden will allow Israel to return hostages without infringing on the other objectives of the war,” Netanyahu said Sunday in the statement announcing Israel’s conditions for a deal.
Mossad chief David Barnea and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar are currently in the Qatari capital, Doha, for a meeting with US, Qatari and Egyptian officials who are brokering the talks with Hamas.
