TEL AVIV — The deal put on the table by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the release of more than 100 Israeli captives was sufficient enough to be welcomed by the Americans, but not to elicit a positive response from Hamas.
"If the Israeli proposal had gone two small steps farther toward Hamas, [the group’s Gaza commander, Yahya] Sinwar might have answered in the affirmative," a senior Israeli political source told Al-Monitor, speaking on the condition of anonymity. "But Netanyahu can't go all the way. He went exactly the distance he felt was needed: far enough to get US backing, not far enough to get a ‘yes’ from Sinwar."
The original Israeli outline was finalized over a month ago at a May 6 meeting of the war cabinet with the participation of Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, the retired generals turned politicians. Netanyahu did not like the proposal, but was persuaded to go along with it by the centrist Gantz and Eisenkot as well as Israel's top military brass and the team leading Israel’s indirect negotiations with Hamas — Mossad Director David Barnea, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon. President Joe Biden unveiled the proposal on May 31. Hamas responded on June 11.
Netanyahu views the response as a complete rejection of Israel’s proposal. Diplomatic sources quoted Thursday by Ynet and the Times of Israel confirmed this. In contrast, Gantz, now back on the opposition bench, said on Thursday that Israel should agree to withdraw its troops from Gaza and cease the war against Hamas for as long as is necessary to secure the release of the hostages. The longer Israel has “waited and waited” for a hostage deal, the more the cost has risen, Gantz told Channel 13.
