From the Liveblog of
Saturday, June 1, 2024
Israeli official to ToI: Under proposal, Israel can achieve all war goals before permanent ceasefire takes effect
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
In response to US President Joe Biden’s presentation of an Israeli hostage release and ceasefire proposal, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel that “Israel’s conditions for the end of the war have not changed.”
The official lists the conditions as “destroying Hamas military and civil capabilities, freeing the hostages, and ensuring that Gaza will no longer represent a threat to Israel.”
The Israeli proposal, insists the official, ensures that Israel can achieve all of these conditions before a permanent ceasefire takes effect.
The proposal will ensure the release of all 125 hostages, beginning with a “humanitarian phase” in which dozens of women, children, sick, and elderly will go free, says the official. This first stage will see a temporary lull in fighting, as well as talks on achieving the release of the remaining living and slain hostages and a permanent ceasefire.
The second phase will only take place after Israel receives assurances on the terms of the ceasefire, per the proposal: “No later than the 16th day, negotiations will begin between the two sides in order to achieve an agreement on the terms for the implementation of phase 2.”
Israel maintains the right to renew hostilities at any time if Hamas violates the terms of the agreement, stresses the official, “including not releasing the agreed-upon number of hostages, and if Israel assesses that the talks are futile and are just meant to buy time.”
