Biden said set to demand Netanyahu honor May proposal; PM said seeking Biden letter on right to resume war after 42 days

President Joe Biden is set to insist at their White House meeting tomorrow that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stand behind the terms of the Israeli proposal, as detailed by the president at the end of May, according to messages received in Israel from the US, Channel 12 news reports.

Biden is likely to be “very forceful” in their meeting, the report says, and will press Netanyahu to back away from his demand for a mechanism to prevent the return of armed gunmen to northern Gaza when civilians are allowed back under the terms of the deal, and to accept an arrangement reached between Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, the US and the Egyptians regarding the Philadelphi Route along the Gaza-Egypt border.

If Netanyahu seeks to stick to his recently unveiled nonnegotiable demands, the meeting “will not be simple,” the TV channel’s diplomatic report assesses, whereas if Biden pushes hard enough, there will be a deal.

Unveiling the Israeli proposal on May 31, Biden said he had “urged the leadership in Israel to stand behind this deal, despite whatever pressure comes.”

Netanyahu earlier today delayed the departure of Israel’s negotiators for resumed talks until after tomorrow’s White House meeting with Biden.

The TV report quotes an unnamed source familiar with the negotiations saying, “All the weight is now on Netanyahu’s shoulders. This is his moment of truth. Because it is clear that the Americans, the [Egyptian and Qatari] mediators and all the senior members of Israel’s security establishment are saying: The conditions are ripe [for an agreement].”

Those senior Israeli security figures are said to include Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, IDF Chief Herzi Halevi, Shin Bet chief Bar and IDF pointman Nitzan Alon.

The unnamed source continues: “And therefore if Netanyahu returns from Washington without a deal, it will be clear that he is the one making difficulties on our side.”

A separate Channel 12 report says that Netanyahu is demanding that the US, and specifically Biden, sign a document recognizing “Israel’s right to resume” its military campaign against Hamas after the first, 42-day stage of the deal.