Netanyahu Asks Biden for ‘Reasonable Deal’ his Cabinet Could Approve

US President Joe Biden's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv last October (AP)
US President Joe Biden's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv last October (AP)
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Netanyahu Asks Biden for ‘Reasonable Deal’ his Cabinet Could Approve

US President Joe Biden's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv last October (AP)
US President Joe Biden's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv last October (AP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked US President Joe Biden not to believe the Israeli press, which he said had "falsely" accused him of not being interested in a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas, according to political sources in Tel Aviv.

The Hebrew website Walla reported that Netanyahu confirmed during his call with Biden that he was interested in reaching an agreement but aimed for a reasonable deal that his cabinet could approve.

- Obstructing the Rafah operation

Walla's political reporter Barak Ravid said he relies on several Israeli and US officials for his sources and stressed that Biden seemed affected by the accusations against Netanyahu.

According to Ravid, Biden asked the Israeli PM to send a delegation to Cairo with serious efforts to ensure the success of the negotiations.

According to the report, Netanyahu responded that contrary to reports and interpretations in the Israeli media, he was very serious to make a deal, citing his willingness to release a Palestinian prisoner for every Israeli taken captive by Hamas.

The Israeli PM also suggested a one-day ceasefire for every single captive released, unlike the previous deal.

The prime minister emphasized to the president that he was ready to strike a hostage deal, even if that meant stopping the Israeli army’s operations, especially plans to enter Rafah in the Gaza Strip.

Biden said that Hamas' demands were exaggerated.

- Israeli dispute

As for the negotiations, Israeli media reports stated that there are sharp disagreements within Israel, which are favoring war over a hostage deal.

Despite Netanyahu's statements to Biden and the families of Israeli detainees, he rejected a new draft presented to him a few hours before the Israeli delegation headed to Cairo for the talks.

The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (Kan 11) reported that the Mossad, the Shin Bet, and the Israeli army have developed a new proposal regarding a prisoner exchange deal.

However, Netanyahu, Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, and Defense Minister Yoav Galant rejected it.

Kan 11 pointed out that the new proposal was prepared by the head of Mossad, David Barnea, the head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, and Maj-Gen reservist Nitzan Alon, commanding intelligence efforts to find the detainees.

The report stated that the proposal was brought "several times" for discussion with Netanyahu, the last of which was hours before the Israeli delegation headed to Cairo.

Kan 11 quoted a source that it said was familiar with the negotiations, saying that the new proposal includes several changes with a certain degree of flexibility, which paves the way for a breakthrough in the talks. The source refused to give further details.

The report stressed that Netanyahu refused the proposal and categorically rejected its presentation in the Cairo talks. He instructed the delegation to only "listen" during its participation in the negotiations.

Alon refused to go to Cairo after Netanyahu rejected the draft, and instead, the PM sent his military advisor.

Channel 13 reported "dramatic disagreements" in Israel regarding the new proposal.



Russia Expels Two UK Diplomats as it Negotiates to Restore US Ties

A flag flies at the British embassy in Moscow, Russia September 13, 2024. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A flag flies at the British embassy in Moscow, Russia September 13, 2024. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Russia Expels Two UK Diplomats as it Negotiates to Restore US Ties

A flag flies at the British embassy in Moscow, Russia September 13, 2024. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A flag flies at the British embassy in Moscow, Russia September 13, 2024. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Russia accused two British diplomats on Monday of spying and gave them two weeks to leave the country, reinforcing the downward trajectory of Moscow's diplomatic relations with Europe even as it negotiates to restore ties with the United States.
Britain's Foreign Office rejected the allegations against its diplomats as "baseless".
Moscow has been angered by Britain's continued military support for Ukraine and by Prime Minister Keir Starmer's recent statements about putting British boots on the ground and planes in the air in Ukraine as part of a potential peacekeeping force, Reuters said.
The expulsions also come days after three Bulgarians were found guilty in a London court of being part of a Russian spy unit run by Wirecard fugitive Jan Marsalek to carry out surveillance on a US military base and other individuals targeted by Moscow.
The two Britons appear to be the first Western diplomats to be expelled from Russia since Moscow and Washington opened talks on restoring staff at their respective embassies that have been depleted by tit-for-tat expulsions, part of Donald Trump's rapprochement with the Kremlin that has alarmed European allies.
Similar expulsions have sharply curtailed the functioning of Russian embassies across the West and of Western missions in Russia since President Vladimir Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022.
Russia's Federal Security Service said the two British diplomats had provided false information when getting permission to enter the country, and it had "identified signs of intelligence and subversive work" they had carried out, harming Russian security.
The Kremlin said Russia's intelligence services were doing everything necessary to safeguard national security.
Responding to Moscow's decision, Britain's Foreign Office said in a statement: "This is not the first time that Russia has made malicious and baseless accusations against our staff."
RELATIONS IN DEEP FREEZE
Russia's Foreign Ministry said it had summoned a British embassy representative over the expulsions and had complained that the diplomats were "undeclared" employees of Britain's intelligence services, something Moscow would not tolerate.
The ministry said it would "respond in kind" if London now decided to "escalate" the situation.
Russian police in February opened a criminal investigation into an alleged assault on a freelance journalist by a person believed to be an employee of the British embassy, an allegation London dismissed as "an interference operation" designed to intimidate legitimate diplomats.
That announcement came a day after Britain announced it was expelling a Russian diplomat in retaliation for Moscow throwing out a British diplomat last November.
Relations between Britain and Russia have plunged to post-Cold War lows since the start of the Ukraine war. Britain has joined successive waves of sanctions against Russia and provided arms to Ukraine.