by Jeremy Scahill
Part 3 - Netanyahu’s “Coup” Against His Own Ceasefire Proposal
Since early July, Netanyahu has intensified Israel’s attacks in Gaza, repeatedly added new terms to the framework, and assassinated Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s political leader and its lead negotiator, in Tehran. Among the new demands put forward by Netanyahu is the right to continue occupying the Philadelphi corridor along the border with Egypt, to maintain control of the Rafah border crossing and to position Israeli troops in central Gaza along the Netzarim axis where IDF forces would establish checkpoints to search Palestinians seeking to return to their homes in northern Gaza.
Egypt has objected to Israeli proposals to remain in the Philadelphi corridor. Israel asked Cairo to amend a 2005 agreement, a security annex to the Camp David Treaty signed in 1979, barring Israel from stationing its forces there. Egypt rejected this, saying, “Opening a discussion about amending the Camp David Treaty may lead to new crises that the treaty may not withstand, especially in light of the growing anger in Egypt over the Israeli practices [in Gaza].” Meanwhile, the independent Egyptian news site Mada Masr recently published satellite imagery showing Israel has fortified its presence along Netzarim. The IDF began bulldozing areas along that axis five months into the war and insists it wants to maintain a presence there as part of any agreement with Hamas.
“No one in Hamas can accept any form of Israeli presence in the Netzarim corridor and investigating the people while they are returning home. And no one accepts this and accepts the military presence in the Philadelphi corridor and the Rafah crossing,” said Naim. “I think the only way to reach a deal is to lift these points from any deal,” otherwise “it means that we are accepting a permanent occupation of the Gaza Strip.”
Naim also said that Israel was insisting on new veto powers over the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, which would prevent the release of high value political prisoners, including those from Hamas and other resistance groups serving multi decade prison sentences. “[Netanyahu] totally changed the terms about the prisoner exchange, which has already been agreed upon and negotiated for months,” said Naim. “I think it would be shameful for any Palestinian to accept such a deal.”
Rather than insisting on upholding what Biden said was Israel’s own proposal in May, the U.S. has appeased Netanyahu’s efforts to allow an indefinite presence of Israeli forces in Gaza and an open-ended campaign of military attacks. Since Haniyeh’s assassination and the selection of Sinwar, the Gaza leader of Hamas, to replace him, Hamas has said it will not participate in what it has described as a rigged process masquerading as negotiations. “The new conditions [Netanyahu] is adding is a coup against his own proposal,” Naim said.
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