Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not add any new conditions to the hostage deal, his office said as the United States, Qatar, and Egypt were set to hold a new round of hostage talks on Thursday.
The claim that Netanyahu “added new demands to the May 27 outline is false,” the Prime Minister’s Office stated, as he referenced the three-phase proposal US President Joe Biden unveiled on May 31.
It contrasted the initial Israeli proposal of May 27, which was the basis of that document, with the clarifications Israel had set forward on July 27.
“The July 27 draft does not include new conditions and does not contradict the May 27 outline. Hamas is the one who demanded 29 changes - something that the prime minister opposed,” the Prime Minister’s Office stated.It focused on three issues raised by Netanyahu himself and heavily debated in the media, including the New York Times piece.
The first was Israel’s refusal to allow armed terrorists to return to northern Gaza, which Netanyahu has set as one of his red lines for the deal.
Initially, the language around the issue stated that armed terrorists should not be allowed to return, but in July it said that there would need to be a screening process, according to the NYT.
The PMO said, “The July 27th draft document refers to the need to establish an agreed verification mechanism in order to ensure that only unarmed civilians return to the northern Gaza Strip (a proposal put forward by the United States) - in accordance with the proposal in the May 27th outline.”
PMO counters claims about hostage negotiations
The Prime Minister’s Office secondly rejected the claim that it was adding in new conditions regarding the release of hostages in the first phase of the deal. Israeli officials have been blunt about their desire to see the maximal number of live hostages returned during that phase, in which humanitarian captives are set to be released. These are all women, elderly, and ill hostages.
“In the July 27 draft, it was stated that all living hostages in the relevant category should be released, in accordance with the May 27 outline, which stated that a certain number of abductees - alive or dead - would be released,” the Prime Minister’s Office stated.
It also focused on the demand that Palestinian terrorists freed from Israeli jails as part of the deal would be exiled from the West Bank and Gaza and that Israel would have veto power over some of the names on the list.
“In the July 27 draft, no new conditions were specified. On the contrary - in the May 27 outline it was stated that Israel would have the right of veto over a certain number of released terrorists and that Israel would be able to deport at least a certain number of terrorists,” the Prime Minister’s Office stated.
“The July 27 draft includes essential clarifications for the purpose of implementing what is written in the May 27 outline,” it stated.