Kirby: No 'Gaps' Between Israeli Proposal and Biden Speech

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Facts

• Israeli media reported on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a meeting of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that the cease-fire proposal presented by US Pres. Joe Biden is 'incomplete.'¹
• Netanyahu reportedly added that there were 'gaps' between the Israeli version and Biden's version of the proposal. However, US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on Monday that Biden's speech 'accurately reflects that [Israeli] proposal.'¹
• Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who threatened over the weekend to pull out of Netanyahu's government if the proposal was approved, alleged on Monday that Netanyahu refused to disclose the full contents of the hostage deal to him.¹
• Top Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, have repeatedly said that Hamas cannot govern Gaza after the war. Hamas said on Friday that it viewed the proposal “positively” without going into further detail.²
• Meanwhile, fighting in Gaza continued, with airstrikes being reported in the center of the strip. In Rafah, aid is reportedly still stalled, as Palestinians face widespread hunger.³
• Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Monday that aid deliveries into Gaza from Egypt via the Rafah Crossing cannot be restarted unless Israel relinquishes control of the crossing and Palestinians take over. Shoukry made clear that the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty remained 'a solid base for security and stability in the region.'⁴

Sources: ¹Timesofisrael, ²Al Jazeera, ³Associated Press and ⁴Reuters.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by The Forward. A guaranteed end to the war will ensure increased humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave, preserve Israel's security, and create a better 'day after' in Gaza without Hamas in power. If Hamas is ready to engage constructively, the Israeli government must stand behind the cease-fire plan. Biden is calling time on the war — Netanyahu must seize this moment and stop the fighting.
• Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by Jerusalem Post. Biden's deception threatens Israel's very existence. If this deal goes through, Hamas will stay in power, and the security situation will return to the status quo of Oct. 6. However, unlike in the past, Israel would have no deterrence against terrorist threats. Israel must push ahead and destroy Hamas entirely.
• Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Al Jazeera. Though this deal, which is nearly identical to earlier proposals that Hamas has already agreed to, must go through, it is too little too late. Israel has massacred over 35K Palestinians in Gaza, yet it has taken months even to approach a deal due to Israeli intransigence. Regardless of how this war ends, Israel must face accountability for its many crimes.

Predictions