Netanyahu dismisses Hamas’ ceasefire demands: ‘Delusional’
search

The latest Jewish News

Read this week’s digital edition

Click Here

Netanyahu dismisses Hamas’ ceasefire demands: ‘Delusional’

PM Netanyahu repeated his insistence on "total victory" in Gaza, which his critics call an empty, political slogan

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with 8104th Battalion Commanders and Soldiers. Photo credit: Haim Zach (GPO)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with 8104th Battalion Commanders and Soldiers. Photo credit: Haim Zach (GPO)

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Hamas’ demands for a ceasefire, which included a full withdrawal of IDF from Gaza and the release of at least 1,500 Palestinian prisoners, calling the proposal “delusional.”

“Surrender to Hamas’s delusional demands, that we’ve just heard, not only would not bring about the freedom of the hostages, but it would only invite an additional slaughter; it would invite disaster for Israel that no Israeli citizens want,” Netanyahu said.

Instead Netanyahu repeated his insistence on “total victory”, which has been criticised by pundits as an empty political slogan.

“Total victory over Hamas will not take years. It will take months. Victory is within reach. When people talk about ‘the day after,’ let’s be clear about one thing. It’s the day after all of Hamas is destroyed. Not half of Hamas, not ¾ of Hamas; all of Hamas.”

“Once Hamas is destroyed, we need to verify that Gaza is demilitarised, that we stamp out any attempt at the resurgence of terror. History has shown that only Israel can do this by having overriding security control over Gaza,” he added.

Netanyahu said that Israel will need to be in Gaza or “act in Gaza at any place and any time that is necessary to ensure that terror doesn’t rears its ugly head again.”

Israel will, however, not be responsible for the civil administration of the more than two million Palestinians in Gaza.

“Gaza must have a civilian administration staffed with those who do not support terrorism, fund terrorism or indoctrinate their children with terrorism and the goal of destroying Israel. In fact, we should seek the very opposite–that school children in Gaza will be educated towards peace, that they’ll be educated towards coexistence,” Netanyahu said.

The prime minister also repeated his call for “moderate” Arab states to “create a different and better future for Gaza”, although none of them have so far committed to anything specific other than financial help.

UNRWA, which is currently being investigated after Israel accused 12 of its staff members of taking part in the October 7 massacre, must be replaced, Netanyahu said.

“This would also require that UNRWA—which perpetuates the Palestinian refugee problem, whose schools indoctrinate Palestinian children with genocide and terror, and from whose ranks sprang a dozen terrorist murderers who participated in the October 7th massacre—this UNRWA must be replaced by responsible aid agencies.”

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel and the West Bank, meeting with both Netanyahu and PA President Abbas.

Blinken reiterated Washington’s concerns about the civilian casualties in Gaza, calling on Israel not to “dehumanise” the Palestinians.

“Israelis were dehumanised in the most horrific way on October 7, ”said Blinken in prepared remarks at a Tel Aviv press conference. “The hostages have been dehumanised every day since. But that cannot be a license to dehumanise others,” he said.

“The overwhelming majority of people in Gaza had nothing to do with the attacks of October 7. The families in Gaza whose survival depends on deliveries of aid from Israel are just like our families. They’re mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, who want to earn a decent living, send their kids to school, have a normal life. That’s who they are. That’s what they want,” he added.

As for the ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, Blinken said that while there are some “clear nonstarters in Hamas’s response, we do think it creates space for agreement to be reached. And we will work at that relentlessly until we get there.”

Support your Jewish community. Support your Jewish News

Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.

For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.

Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.

You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.

100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...

Engaging

Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.

Celebrating

There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.

Pioneering

In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.

Campaigning

Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.

Easy access

In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.

Voice of our community to wider society

The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.

We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.

read more: