Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not regard Hamas’s response to the Trump proposal as positive, Channel 12 reports, citing people in Netanyahu’s circle.
“They see it mainly as a negative response,” the report says. “But they are going along with Trump’s efforts because they see no other option.”
Channel 12 reports that people close to Netanyahu are briefing that the prime minister was surprised by Trump’s immensely positive response to what was a conditional and ambiguous Hamas acceptance of his September 29 proposal.
But the report also notes that Netanyahu has a political interest in being seen to be consenting to move ahead reluctantly, rather than enthusiastically, given his coalition’s two far-right parties’ firm opposition to ending the war.
The report notes that the fact that Trump has already pressed Israel into halting its offensive operations in Gaza means that Israel has an interest in quickly finalizing the vital first stage of the deal, which provides for the release of all hostages in the first 72 hours of the agreement — both because Israel wants those hostages freed and because it would want to resume offensive operations right away if Hamas reneges or plays for time.
Channel 12 says the assessment in Israel is that Hamas is likely to raise objections and seek assurances regarding further elements of the agreement, notably regarding post-war Gaza, during the soon-to-be-convened talks on the initial phase of hostage releases and IDF withdrawals, and that this is likely to “further complicate the process.”