Netanyahu Blocks Hamas Prisoner Swap

ANCHOR:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is responsible for stalling negotiations on a ceasefire and prisoner swap deal, an Israeli source familiar with the talks said, Israeli media reported Wednesday.

Israel’s public broadcaster KAN cited the unnamed source as saying Netanyahu “doesn’t stop making new demands aimed at blocking negotiations.”

KAN added that the source was referring to Netanyahu’s insistence on not withdrawing from the Philadelphia Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border and the Netzarim Axis, which bisects the Gaza Strip.

With Netanyahu’s insistence on these issues, he is responsible for today’s impasse, the source said.

KAN also quoted sources from the Israeli negotiating team on Tuesday as accusing Netanyahu of trying to “blow up” the talks and block a hostage exchange deal with Hamas.

“Israel will not, under any circumstances, abandon the Philadelphia Corridor and the Netzarim Axis despite enormous pressure to do so,” Netanyahu said in remarks cited by Israel’s Maariv newspaper on Tuesday during a meeting with families of Israelis held captive in Gaza.

“These are strategic principles, both militarily and politically,” he added.

His comments came hours after US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the Israeli prime minister had agreed to a recent cease-fire and prisoner exchange proposal put forward by Washington.

Setting new conditions

Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar concluded on Friday with “a proposal that narrows the gaps” between Israel and Hamas, which is consistent with the principles laid out by Biden on May 31.

Biden said in May that Israel presented a three-phase deal that would end hostilities in Gaza and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave.

The plan includes a ceasefire, a hostage-prisoner exchange and the reconstruction of Gaza.

But Hamas accused Netanyahu on Sunday of putting new conditions on the Gaza ceasefire and hostage exchange proposal made during the Doha talks.

“The new proposal meets and aligns with Netanyahu’s conditions, particularly his refusal of a permanent cease-fire, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and his insistence on continuing to occupy the Netzarim junction, the Rafah crossing and the Philadelphe Corridor. Hamas said in a statement.

“He also placed new conditions on the hostage exchange file and withdrew from other conditions, which is preventing the deal from going through,” it added.

For months, the US, Qatar and Egypt have been trying to broker a deal between Israel and Hamas to secure a prisoner exchange and cease-fire and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. However, mediation efforts have stalled due to Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’ demands for an end to the war.

Israel continued its brutal assault on the Gaza Strip after the Hamas attack last October 7 despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.

The conflict has resulted in more than 40,170 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and more than 92,740 injuries, according to local health authorities.

The ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the area in ruins.

Israel is facing charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians had taken refuge before the May 6 invasion of the area.