Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israeli forces would push
into the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah regardless of the outcome of talks
to pause the fighting that appears to have been making some progress in recent
days.
اضافة اعلان
“It
has to be done,”
Netanyahu said. “Because total victory is our goal, and total
victory is within reach.”
Netanyahu
did say that if a cease-fire deal was reached, the move into Rafah, which
during 20 weeks of war has served as a last refuge for hundreds of thousands of
Palestinian families forced from their homes, would be “delayed somewhat.”
The
push toward Rafah has drawn warnings from Israel’s closest ally, the United
States, because of the potential for mass civilian casualties beyond the nearly
30,000 Palestinians who have already been reported killed in the war, more than
half of whom are women and children.
Netanyahu,
speaking on the CBS News program “Face the Nation,” said Sunday that he
believed that Israel would be “weeks away” from total victory once the Rafah
operation began.
Israeli
officials have said the battle for
Rafah could take place during the Muslim
holy month of Ramadan, which is expected to begin during the second week of
March. Ramadan has been a critical moment for tensions between Israelis and
Palestinians over the years.
Jordan’s
foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, warned in a press briefing Sunday of
“catastrophic” consequences if fighting continued in Gaza during
Ramadan. Al
Jazeera quoted him as saying it “will place the entire region at the risk of an
explosion.”
The
Israeli government has come under intense criticism from neighbors and allies
alike for the breadth of death and destruction in Gaza. Netanyahu said Sunday
that the Israeli military had defied predictions and warnings from the “best of
friends” at the outset of the war, an apparent reference to U.S. officials.
“They
said you cannot fight, you can’t enter
Gaza City, you can’t go into the
tunnels, it will be a terrible blood bath,” Netanyahu said. “All of that turned
out to be not true.”
“We’ve been clear that we do not believe that an operation, a major military operation, should proceed in Rafah unless there is a clear and executable plan to protect civilians, to get them to safety and to feed, clothe and house them — and we have not seen a plan like that,”
Netanyahu’s
comments seemed to underline the yawning gulf between how the war is being
perceived inside Israel, where the main concern is the release of Israeli
hostages and the defeat of Hamas, and much of the rest of the world, where
there is anger and despair over the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
Netanyahu
said that “This war has been forced upon” Israel and that Hamas “not only targets
civilians but hides behind civilians.” Israel has also said it is taking steps
to allow displaced civilians in Rafah to move to safer places.
But
Sunday, US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan,
again urged caution. “We’ve been clear that we do not believe that an
operation, a major military operation, should proceed in Rafah unless there is
a clear and executable plan to protect civilians, to get them to safety and to
feed, clothe and house them — and we have not seen a plan like that,” he said
on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Netanyahu’s
comments came as an Israeli delegation prepared to leave for Qatar for
intensive talks with mediators aimed at closing the gaps around a new deal for
a temporary cease-fire with Hamas and the release of some hostages held in
Gaza. An Israeli official familiar with the discussions said the Israeli
delegation could arrive in Qatar, which has been helping mediate the talks, as
soon as Monday.
The
negotiations will come on the heels of talks held Friday in Paris, where
Israel’s delegation agreed to a basic outline for a deal that would involve a
six-week truce and the exchange of about 40 hostages for Palestinian prisoners
held by Israel, according to two Israeli officials and a regional diplomat who
all requested anonymity because of the delicate nature of the talks.
Hamas
representatives did not attend the Paris meeting, and it was not immediately
clear how acceptable the outline was to the group.
One
main sticking point in negotiations has been Hamas’ insistence, at least
publicly, on a complete cessation of hostilities as a condition for any hostage
deal, as well as the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners, including
hundreds convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis.
Taher
al-Nunu, a spokesperson for Hamas’ political wing, said the group was adamant
that any truce must include a long-term end to Israel’s campaign in Gaza. “We
cannot talk about any ‘temporary truce’ or ‘temporary calm’ which does not
guarantee these points,” al-Nunu said in a television interview on Saturday
night with Al Jazeera.
Israel’s
war Cabinet on Saturday night approved the broad terms for a potential
agreement based on the discussions in Paris, one of the Israeli officials said,
clearing the way for a delegation to head to Qatar. The goal, the two Israeli
officials said, was to reach a deal before the start of Ramadan.
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