The countries mediating the indirect talks between Israel and Hamas urged the two sides on Saturday to “finalize” the Gaza ceasefire agreement – which includes the release of hostages – which it presented as a three-phase peace plan on Friday. Joe Biden.

“Qatar, the US and Egypt (…) jointly call on Hamas and Israel to finalize the agreement based on the principles outlined by President Joe Biden,” which meet the demands of “all sides,” they said in a joint statement by the three states.

A few hours after Joe Biden’s speech, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his government’s “conditions” for a permanent ceasefire, the “total destruction” of Hamas, the “release of all hostages” and “the guarantee that Gaza will no longer pose a threat” to the security of the Israeli state.

For its part, Hamas limited itself to saying that it viewed “positively” the road map presented by Mr. Biden, after reiterating its “non-negotiable” demands for the declaration of a permanent cease-fire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza Strip before any deal is struck — terms Israel rejects.

Netanyahu between Scylla and Charybdis

The Israeli prime minister is caught in the crossfire: on the one hand, his far-right ministers, Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, are threatening to quit the government if he goes ahead with the deal. On the other hand the international outcry over the bloodshed of civilians and the internal reactions – thousands of Israelis took to the streets again yesterday to demand the return of the hostages.

Far-right Israeli ministers have threatened to quit Benjamin Netanyahu’s government if the prime minister goes ahead with a Gaza ceasefire deal,

In messages on social media X, Itamar Ben Gvir, the minister of national security, said his party would “dissolve the government”.

“Such an agreement that would end the war without eliminating Hamas would be ‘reckless, a victory for terrorism and a threat to Israel’s national security,'” the death-defying head of the Jewish Power party told X.

At the same time, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he “will not participate in a government that accepts the proposed plan.”

Smotrich has called for the Gaza offensive to continue until Hamas is destroyed and all hostages held by Palestinian militants are rescued, saying otherwise he will not remain in government.

In his post on X, Smotrich, head of the far-right Religious Zionism party, also emphasizes that he opposes any temporary truce measures such as the withdrawal of Israeli troops, the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza or a broad release of Palestinian prisoners.

On the other hand, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called on Netanyahu not to ignore the Biden plan “A deal is on the table” and the Israeli government “must grab it,” said Yair Lapid, former prime minister of Israel. assuring Benjamin Netanyahu that he would have his support “for a hostage deal if (Itamar) Ben Gvir and (Bezalel) Smotrich leave the government.”