(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) President Trump on Sunday called for a deal that would release the remaining Israeli captives in Gaza, but there’s no sign that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ready to end his genocidal war.
“MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!! DJT,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
According to Israel Hayom, the Israeli security cabinet is expected to hold a meeting on Sunday night to discuss the prospect of a Gaza deal, but one that would involve only a temporary ceasefire, an idea that’s been repeatedly rejected by Hamas. The Palestinian group’s long-standing position is that it’s willing to release the remaining Israelis in exchange for a permanent ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Sources close to Netanyahu told Israel Hayom that the Israeli leader hasn’t given up on his goals and that ending the war isn’t under consideration. Israeli officials are discussing the idea of a deal previously put forward by US special envoy Steve Witkoff that would free some captives, followed by a return to military operations.
Mahmoud Mardawi, a senior Hamas official, said on Sunday that Netanyahu doesn’t want a deal because he is putting forward “impossible conditions” and is insisting on selecting the names of 10 Israeli hostages to be released instead of all of them.
The report said that IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir favors a temporary truce to allow the Israeli military to regroup for further operations. Several ministers in the cabinet are opposed to the idea because they fear that a temporary deal could become permanent.
While Trump is calling for a deal, there’s no sign that he’s putting any pressure on Netanyahu to reach one, which he could do by leveraging US military aid since it’s required for the IDF to maintain operations in Gaza. Instead, Trump is strongly backing Netanyahu by demanding an end to his corruption trial and hinting that US military aid could be at risk if it continues.
“The United States of America spends Billions of Dollar a year, far more than on any other Nation, protecting and supporting Israel. We are not going to stand for this,” Trump said in a post on Saturday. The president also claimed that Netanyahu was attempting to negotiate a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal.
In an analysis published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the author, Amir Tibon, said that in order to reach a deal in Gaza, Trump must pressure Netanyahu, but instead he is “coddling” the Israeli leader.
“Trump’s claim that the Netanyahu trial is somehow an impediment to the hostage deal doesn’t hold water,” Tibon wrote. “The main obstacle to a hostage and ceasefire deal was, has been and continues to be Netanyahu’s refusal to end the war. Hamas hasn’t budged on this demand in the last 100 days, despite heavy losses in Gaza and the killing of some of its last remaining senior leaders.”
This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.
