Netanyahu Clarifies His Policy on Gaza

In an hour-long conference with reporters from the international press on Wednesday evening, Benjamin Netanyahu made a clear presentation of his policy on the war with Hamas and his stance in negotiations for the release of the hostages.

His 23-minute presentation started with acknowledgement of the heart-rending feelings of grief and anger that Israelis are experiencing because of the war and Hamas’ execution of six hostages last week.

Netanyahu emphasised that retaining control of the Philadelphi Corridor is crucial to the achievement of Israel’s war goals and said the importance of the corridor has been his long-term point of view, which prompted his resignation from Ariel Sharon’s government back in 2005.

He finished his presentation by repeating previous statements that Israel is committed to achieving all three of its goals for the war:

1. Destroying Hamas’ military and governing capabilities.
2. Releasing all of the hostages.
3. Ensuring Gaza does not become a threat to Israel anymore.

After his presentation, he opened up for questions from the reporters and answered all convincingly. In particular, he reminded his audience that Israel has agreed to several versions of the ceasefire proposals put forward by the mediators, while Hamas has rejected them all.

And he refuted a claim from one reporter that Hamas had accepted a proposal, reminding everyone that Hamas only claimed to have accepted a proposal, but they said that whilst insisting on more than 20 amendments to it.