US President Donald Trump has promised “something special” is coming on Gaza as Israeli officials say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reservations at concerning the White House’s 21-point ceasefire and post-war governance plan.
The two leaders will meet on Monday for a high-stakes dialogue that Trump has boasted might finish the struggle in Gaza. Trump projected optimism on Sunday as his administration works to shut a complete plan that would come with the discharge of all hostages held by Hamas.
“We have a real chance for GREATNESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST,” Trump wrote on social media. “ALL ARE ON BOARD FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL, FIRST TIME EVER. WE WILL GET IT DONE!!! President DJT.”
But in an interview with Fox News on Sunday afternoon, Netanyahu didn’t say he had accepted the plan. “We’re working on it,” he stated. “It’s not been finalized yet.”
Hamas stated on Sunday that it had not obtained any new proposals for a ceasefire. In an announcement, it reiterated “readiness to examine any proposals it receives from its mediator brothers in a positive and responsible manner, while upholding the national rights of our people.”
Netanyahu is predicted to current reservations and push for adjustments to the ceasefire plan, three Israeli officials stated Sunday, underscoring the problem of closing a deal, even when most of the particulars have been labored out prematurely.
Most of the 21-point plan was coordinated with Netanyahu prematurely “in close detail”, one of many Israeli officials stated, including that the White House is aware of Israel will oppose sure components, such as the function of the Palestinian Authority and the reference to aspirations of a future Palestinian state.
“Netanyahu will not accept all of the outline as it has been initially published,” stated one official. A second official stated he would doubtless attempt to make extra adjustments earlier than the US finalizes the proposal “and afterwards as well.”
Netanyahu met with President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner on Thursday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in NY to debate the plan. Trump offered the ceasefire and post-war plan to Arab states on the UN on Tuesday.
“The dynamics appear more serious this time,” stated a senior Israeli official, “but it still needs to cross the final line.” The final spherical of negotiations, which have been additionally marked by vital optimism, fell aside in late-July when the US surprisingly withdrew from the talks, adopted carefully by Israel. Both international locations blamed Hamas for not negotiating in good religion.
Since then, key mediators Egypt and Qatar have tried to restart negotiations with out success. Days after the US offered a brand new ceasefire proposal earlier this month, an Israeli strike in Doha concentrating on senior Hamas’ leaders derailed talks totally. In his tv interview Sunday, Netanyahu didn’t apologize for the strike.
“Our goal was Hamas. Not anything beyond it,” he stated. “I think we can work out an understanding on this.”
Netanyahu’s far-right political allies, Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, have constantly threatened to topple the federal government if the struggle ought to finish, and they’re anticipated to adamantly object to any plan that features the Palestinian Authority.
“Mr. Prime Minister, you do not have a mandate to end the war without a complete defeat of Hamas,” Ben Gvir wrote on X on Saturday.
Ahead of the assembly between Trump and Netanyahu, households of the hostages held a rally in New York’s Central Park, demanding an finish to the struggle in what they see as a crucial second. Dani Miran, the daddy of hostage Omri Miran, stated on the rally, “We do not lose hope. We keep fighting to bring Omri and all the remaining hostages home.”
Many of the hostage households have grown more and more indignant with Netanyahu, accusing him of pursuing the struggle for political causes. The current determination to assault Gaza City, the place quite a lot of the 20 residing hostages are believed to be held, solely added to the fury on show on Sunday.
Ilana Gritzweski, a freed hostage who’s the companion of captive Matan Zangauker, stated, “Netanyahu chose to bomb Matan and the other hostages. He chose death over life. President Trump, you have the power to end the war and bring all the hostages home.”
NCS’s Eugenia Yosef contributed.