From the Liveblog of
Thursday, August 22, 2024
US bridging proposal for hostage-truce deal meets Israel’s security demands, official tells ToI; says Israel will control Philadelphi Route
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
As the chances for the success of talks around a hostage deal come under doubt, an Israeli official stresses to The Times of Israel that “the prime minister stands behind the principle that Israel will rule the Philadelphi Route.”
The deployment of IDF troops on the Egypt-Gaza border corridor in the event of a deal with Hamas is one of the main sticking points in negotiations.
The official says that “there is a reason we agreed” to the US bridging proposal offered in Doha last week, and that it meets Israel’s security demands.
The official insists that Israel will continue to fight to achieve its war aims whether or not a deal is reached: “We are fighting Hamas as if there are no negotiations, and we are negotiating as if there is no war.”
“The prime minister’s position is that we must apply military and diplomatic pressure on Hamas to reach a deal,” continues the official. “The military pressure is continuing, in parallel with diplomatic pressure from the mediating countries.”
A deal does not mean the war is over, the official emphasizes.
“So long as Hamas doesn’t agree to a deal, we will continue fighting,” says the official.
“Even if they do, the war will continue,” the official continues. “Of course, if there is a deal, there will be a lull in the fighting in the first stage. But we will continue fighting until we achieve all of our war aims.”
