Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Monday, September 2, 2024
From the Liveblog of
Monday, September 2, 2024
Netanyahu insists he’s committed to reaching hostage deal, blames Hamas for stalled talks
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a a press conference in Jerusalem, September 2, 2024. (GPO screenshot)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is entirely committed to reaching a hostage-ceasefire deal, but “unfortunately we did not see a similar response from Hamas.”
“We agreed to the formula that President Biden presented on May 31,” he continues. “We agreed to what they called the ‘final bridging proposal’ on August 16.”
“Hamas rejected the first. Hamas is rejecting the second.”
Netanyahu argues that when the Palestinian terror group thinks Israel is showing weakness or pressure is being applied on Israel, it goes back to its original demands. “The minute they think there is some weakness on our side, or some pressure that will break us, they return [to their obdurate positions].”
