Joe Biden has seen his ceasefire proposal brutally dismissed as a member of Benjamin Netanyahu‘s Cabinet insisted his country will not “surrender” to American pressure.
The US President last Friday announced a new plan to end the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip and ensure the return of all hostages taken by Hamas on October 7.
The three-phase plan would also require the terror group to return the bodies of any captive killed since the start of the war in exchange for the release of an undisclosed number of Palestinian prisoners.
However, Mr Biden’s efforts appeared to be ineffective as Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chickli rejected the proposed ceasefire agreement.
Speaking at an event organised by settler-aligned news organisation Besheva in New York, Chickli said: “No surrender, not to American pressure, not to anything.
“We don’t have any other choice but to continue the war and annihilate Hamas, and there is no option to accept a ceasefire while Hamas is still in power.”
Chickli urged Netanyahu to reject the proposal despite Washington’s continued calls on the Israeli Government to agree to a ceasefire.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and War Cabinet Minister Benny Gants on Sunday, arguing that a deal “to achieve a full and complete ceasefire in Gaza as part of a hostage deal that would secure the release of all hostages” was a priority.
A press release from the State Department added that Mr Blinken had “commended Israel for the proposal and emphasised that Hamas should take the deal without delay.”
Netanyahu is under growing pressure from many Israelis to accept the proposed ceasefire deal, while far-right allies threaten to collapse his government if he does.
Gallant, part of Israel’s three-member War Cabinet who recently urged the government to have a detailed postwar plan for Gaza, said in a briefing that “we seek a governing alternative to Hamas.”
He added: “The framework for this includes isolating areas, removing Hamas operatives in these areas and bringing in other forces that will enable the formation of a governing alternative.”
The United States continued to press Israel on the ceasefire proposal outlined by Biden, who said Friday it’s time for the war to end.
Many of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced and sheltered with few supplies, large parts of the territory have been destroyed and the United Nations has warned of “full-blown” famine.
The deal’s first phase would last six weeks and include a “full and complete ceasefire,” a withdrawal of Israeli forces from all densely populated areas of Gaza and the release of several hostages, including women, older people and the wounded, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Biden acknowledged that moving into the next phase of the deal would require more negotiations.