“No pressure” will prevent Israel from defending itself, Netanyahu assures

The message is clear. “I tell leaders around the world that no pressure, no decision by an international body will prevent Israel from defending itself,” Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday evening during a Holocaust memorial ceremony at the Yad Vashem memorial in Jerusalem. “If Israel must stand alone, Israel will stand alone,” the Israeli prime minister insisted, condemning the “terrible volcano of anti-Semitism” that is rising around the world against Israel.

Truce discussions in principle are due to continue this Monday in Qatar, the main mediating country, where US intelligence chief William Burns is expected, while the Hamas delegation is expected to return to Cairo on Tuesday, according to Egyptian media.

For now, Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Sunday evening that Israel cannot “accept” the demands of the Islamist movement, which calls for a permanent ceasefire in the Palestinian territory as a precondition for any agreement, especially on the release of the hostages kidnapped on October 7. in Israel.

And despite criticism from many countries and the UN over the risks of famine and humanitarian tragedy, Israel’s prime minister is still threatening to launch an offensive on the overcrowded city of Rafah, on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip, “with or without a truce.” agreement.

“We will defeat our genocidal enemies”

Israel’s prime minister compared the protests seen at universities around the world, including in the United States, to the discrimination Jews faced at German universities during World War II. “What a distortion of justice and history,” he said, adding: “The criticism is not because of our actions, but because we exist… Because we are Jews.” And affirm: “Today we again face enemies determined to destroy us,” before promising: “You will not tie our hands… Israel will continue to fight human evil… Until victory,” he said. “We will defeat our genocidal enemies. Never ever ! “, he said again.

It remains to be seen whether Netanyahu’s speech will be able to withstand international pressure for a long time, as well as pressure from the families of the hostages, who are pushing the government to accept a truce?

A proposal from mediator countries Qatar, Egypt and the United States, presented to Hamas in late April, envisages a truce involving the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. However, a Hamas spokesman confirmed on Sunday that the movement “will under no circumstances accept an agreement that does not explicitly provide for an end to the war.” A Hamas delegation left for Doha on Sunday evening for consultations, a Hamas spokesman said. She is due to return to Egypt on Tuesday “to complete negotiations,” Al-Qahera News, a news agency close to Egyptian intelligence, said. The CIA director also left for Qatar, a source close to the negotiations said.

The question of the release of hostages

“In the absence of progress” in the discussions in Cairo, William Burns is to hold an “emergency meeting with the Prime Minister” of the emirate, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdelrahman Al Thani, “to discuss ways to get negotiations back on track.” according to this source.

At the same time, the Forum of Hostage Families on Sunday again called on Netanyahu to accept an agreement that would allow the release of the hostages. “Mr. Netanyahu, history will not forgive you if you miss this opportunity,” the text reads.

Meanwhile, fighting continues in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army says three of its soldiers were killed and 12 wounded on Sunday by rockets fired by the armed wing of Hamas around Kerem Shalom, the main crossing point for humanitarian aid from Israel into the Gaza Strip. Ezzedine al-Qassam brigades claimed responsibility for the fire, prompting Israel to close the checkpoint used to deliver humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

Hours later, 16 people from two families were killed in Israeli strikes on two houses in and around Rafah, Palestinian rescue workers said.