Sources familiar with ceasefire talks accuse Netanyahu of stalling until Knesset recess

An Arab diplomat and a second source involved in mediation efforts accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of dragging out the hostage negotiations, speculating that he is trying to stall until the Knesset enters its recess in two weeks, in order to reduce the risk of his government collapsing if he agrees to compromise.

While US and Israeli officials expressed optimism last week about the chances for an imminent agreement, negotiations have been stuck for the past four days, over the scope of Israel’s withdrawal, the sources say.

“He is making public statements that a deal is possible and imminent in order to keep the pressure off of him, but it’s starting to feel like a stalling tactic,” the Arab diplomat says of Netanyahu.

The source involved in mediation claims Netanyahu is preventing a breakthrough from being reached before the Knesset recess, which runs from July 27 until the end of October, as it is more difficult to dissolve parliament during that period.

Netanyahu has denied thwarting a hostage deal, arguing that Hamas — not Israel — was the one that did not accept the US proposal for a hostage deal in the spring. The US has also maintained that Hamas has been the obstacle to a deal to date.

But the sources speaking to The Times of Israel say that the updated Israeli proposal for the partial IDF withdrawal from Gaza that Netanyahu authorized last week does not allow for a breakthrough in the negotiations, as it still envisions Israel remaining in control of roughly one-third of the Strip and includes a three-kilometer buffer zone into Rafah, the sources say.

On Wednesday, Israel presented a reduced version of its withdrawal, but the proposal was rejected by Hamas, which told mediators that Netanyahu is using it to establish what he is branding as a “humanitarian city” in the southern quarter of Gaza. Defense Minister Israel Katz has said Israel wants to eventually herd Gaza’s entire population there, vet them upon entry, and subsequently prevent from leaving, as Jerusalem encourages their emigration outside the enclave.

While continuing to reject the Israeli redeployment proposal, Hamas has agreed to accept a one-kilometer buffer zone around much of the Strip’s perimeter. However, Israel is pushing for it to extend two kilometers into Gaza, which the Arab mediators think is unreasonable, the two sources say.

Due to the extended stalemate and what the Arab diplomat and mediating source say is Hamas’s continued willingness to release all of the hostages at once in exchange for an up-front Israeli commitment to end the war, the two sources accuse Netanyahu of stalling.