NETANYAHU PUSHED FOR RAFAH OFFENSIVE LAST WEEK, ISRAEL'S WAR CABINET OPPOSED

Netanyahu Pushed for Rafah Offensive Last Week, Israel's War Cabinet Opposed

Several of Prime Minister Netanyahu's actions hint an ulterior motive of delaying a deal. His office denied such allegations, but while Israeli officials assessed that Hamas was close to agreeing to the proposal, Netanyahu started preparing for a military operation in Rafah despite the war cabinet's objection

May 08th, 12PM May 08th, 12PM

During last Thursday's war cabinet meeting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed starting the military operation in Rafah as soon as possible, and to carry out preparations for it. He did this despite senior Israeli officials' assessments that Hamas was close to agreeing to release the hostages and a cease-fire, and that such a decision would torpedo the deal.

A source with knowledge on the details said that everyone present at the meeting, including the war cabinet ministers and professionals, objected to Netanyahu's proposal, and it was rejected.

When the attendees were polled for their opinions, some said that a Rafah operation would put an end to the negotiations with Hamas, and others said that no such decision should be taken without a plan for Gaza's future or because of U.S. objections to an operation in the city. Netanyahu's proposal casts doubts on the claims by the Prime Minister's Office that he did not raise difficulties against reaching a deal out of political interests.

Besides evacuating Rafah, Netanyahu tried to advance other actions that imply his attitude toward the negotiations. According to senior sources, at the war cabinet meeting held two weeks ago, Netanyahu sought to limit the mandate given to Nitzan Alon, Mossad Chief David Barnea and Shin Bet Security services chief Ronen Bar, Israel's negotiations representatives.

A source present at the meeting said that Netanyahu asked to add to the negotiations different stages that would require the approval of the cabinet, something that would delay the process.

This request by PM Netanyahu was also rejected. Following Netanyahu's attempts to change the negotiating team's mandate in contravention of cabinet decisions, that week, war cabinet member Benny Gantz sought assurances from Barnea that the mandate had not been changed.

At the meeting two weeks ago, war cabinet members were asked to decide Israel's position in the current round of negotiations. One particularly sensitive question was at the center: what is the minimum number of hostages that Israel would agree to a deal for their release.

The meeting set a different number from the 33 hostages that would be released in the deal's first stage, which has been openly discussed. Due to the sensitivity of the decision, and its possible effect on the negotiations if it had become public, it was decided not to submit it to the expanded cabinet that convened later that day.

But, as reported by Israeli news site Ynet, at the start of the expanded cabinet meeting, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich presented the secret information. Shortly afterward, partial information about the minimum number of hostages that Israel would accept in a deal was leaked to the media.

Some military and diplomatic sources believe that Netanyahu told Smotrich about the confidential details, who then leaked them to sabotage the negotiations. According to information obtained by Haaretz, and published here for the first time, Netanyahu met Smotrich between the war cabinet meeting and the expanded cabinet meeting.

In the past few days, hostages' relatives, as well as Netanyahu's coalition partners, have criticized his conduct, claiming that he is delaying the negotiations for a deal. On Saturday, after Netanyahu declared – as a "political source" – that the army would launch an operation in Rafah whether or not there would be a deal, Gantz said in response, "I suggest to the 'political sources' and to all decision-makers to wait for official updates, act responsibly and don't get hysterical over political considerations."

This week, the Prime Minister's Office denied claims that Netanyahu was trying to sabotage the negotiations for the release of the hostages out of political motives. "The claim that the prime minister and not Hamas is the party that torpedoes a deal for the release of the hostages is a complete lie and deliberate deception of the public," read the statement. "The truth is the opposite."

No response has been received from the Prime Minister's Office. A person on behalf of Gantz said, "We do not comment to conversations behind closed doors."

2024-05-08T09:31:33Z dg43tfdfdgfd