The Netanyahu game
With the recent report by the renowned Axios journalist following the three-hour meeting between Netanyahu and Antony Blinken, it has become apparent that Netanyahu has been playing everyone, including his own government officials.
By adding specific conditions regarding the control of the Philadelphia crossing, he has made it difficult for mediators.
The Minister of Defense and heads of security organizations had clearly told him that they could track arms smuggling to Gaza even without control of the crossing, and what Netanyahu has proposed as controlling the crossing is a structure that takes several months to establish.
They warned him that the lives of hostages would be at risk without an agreement.
On the other hand, Netanyahu has tied the hands of the negotiating team and has not allowed any flexibility in talks with Egyptian officials regarding the Philadelphia crossing.
Beyond all the points raised in this report and other recent narratives, one particular point is crucial.
The Israeli negotiating team had informed Netanyahu on their return from Doha that Hamas would not accept his added conditions, and Netanyahu had prematurely declared his agreement to the terms of the agreement both before and after the meeting with Blinken, risking the collapse of the agreement.
Neither Hamas nor Netanyahu will easily provide an opportunity for Biden and Harris to achieve a major breakthrough while the Democratic Party is holding its convention.
Biden’s foreign policy team and Blinken should focus on Netanyahu’s agreement with the deal, without wasting time worrying about Netanyahu’s next moves, and continue efforts to persuade Hamas and pressure Netanyahu to abandon his recent demands using other leverage. Biden’s foreign policy team should also keep an eye on the threat from Iran and negotiate to prevent a conflict between Iran and Israel.
Bret McGurk’s tough and challenging days are far from over.
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