State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Monday that Biden anticipated the plan would not be accepted by some members of the Israeli government.
“Certainly, we’ve seen some Israeli government officials come out against this proposal,” Miller said. But he said the proposal “is in the long-term security interest of Israel. It’s obviously in the long-term interest of the Palestinian people as well.”
Miller said that since Biden announced the plan on Friday, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has spoken with the foreign ministers of Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. He has also spoken with Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s wartime cabinet, and Yoav Galant, the Israeli defense minister.
Miller said “we have every confidence” Israel would support the ceasefire plan, adding that the plan was presented to Hamas last week but that Hamas had yet to formally respond.
Hamas said it “views positively” the proposal Biden made on Friday. It has not yet said whether it will accept the deal. On Sunday, senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad told an Egyptian news outlet that the “ball” is now “on Israel’s side.”
Netanyahu insisted the ceasefire proposal would allow Israel to continue fighting Hamas, which launched a deadly attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, until all of its war goals are achieved, including destroying the group’s military and ability to govern.
Two Israeli officials confirmed that Biden’s proposal was largely in line with Israel’s latest ceasefire proposal in the talks mediated by Qatar and Egypt.
While the world’s attention is focused on the rising death toll and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Israel’s attention is focused on the safety and release of the hostages, many of whom are civilians, who were captured and brought to Gaza on October 7.
