Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed not to "surrender to pressure" to agree to a hostage deal despite widespread protests in his country following the deaths of six Israeli captives in Gaza on Saturday.
In a "defiant" press conference, the Israeli prime minister insisted on a long-term military presence along the Philadelphi Corridor in Gaza, which borders Egypt, "even as international mediators and his own security chiefs warn that it would hold up a deal to free hostages held by Hamas", said the Financial Times.
What did the commentators say? Joe Biden has expressed frustration with Netanyahu's stance. The US president said yesterday that a final hostage-release deal between Israel and Hamas was "very close". But when asked if he thought the Israeli leader was doing enough on the issue, Biden responded: "No."
"Netanyahu has weathered many storms in his long years as the country's leader, but none as big as this," said Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall on Sky News. With his "refusal to compromise and the fate of the hostages at stake, he is boxing himself into a corner Israel might never forgive him for".
"Two things should be clear to anyone paying attention," said Mickey Bergman, chief executive of Global Reach, on Foreign Policy. "First, Hamas and its senior leader in the enclave, Yahya Sinwar, are responsible for the ongoing suffering of the hostages in Gaza." And second, Netanyahu "has the power to secure their release but has chosen again and again not to do so". The Israeli PM is "not genuinely interested in a hostage deal", because it threatens his political survival.
But while "Netanyahu's critics claim that he is motivated solely by venal political considerations", said Melanie Phillips in The Times, "do they really think he can settle for a deal that would allow Hamas to recover"? No national leader "would have agreed to such surrender terms".
What next? US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators continue to work on brokering a ceasefire deal that would see Hamas release the 97 hostages still held in Gaza, including 33 presumed dead, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Biden could offer a final "take it or leave it" deal to Israel and Hamas as early as this week, according to sources cited by US TV network NBC. |