Netanyahu denies changing hostage deal parameters ahead of fateful summit on Thursday

Numerous US officials travel to region to prepare high-level talks

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday denied adding new conditions to the outline presented on May 27, ahead of a high-level summit set for Thursday which is intended to significantly advance the hostage deal and truce talks between Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization.

The current talks are being held based on the Israeli proposal submitted by U.S. President Joe Biden on May 27. On July 27, Netanyahu sent a letter to say he had clarified several points in the original outline, while his critics within Israel and abroad, claim that he added new conditions designed to prevent a deal from being implemented.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu’s office (PMO) released a detailed statement denying the charge and specifically refuting three claims often made against him.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu’s July 27 letter does not introduce extra conditions and certainly does not contradict or undermine the May 27 proposal,” the PMO statement read. “In fact, Hamas is the one that demanded 29 changes to the May 27 proposal, something the Prime Minister refused to do.”

Regarding the first of three points, the PMO stated: “The May 27 proposal stipulates that only unarmed civilians will be permitted to cross the Netzarim corridor to Northern Gaza. The July 27 letter stipulates that an agreed-upon mechanism should be established to assure this (something that was initially raised by the US mediator). The letter not only does not contradict the May 27 proposal, it facilitates it.”

Secondly, Israel had clarified that while the original proposal noted that hostages who are “living or dead” were to be released by Hamas, the July 27 version stated that “all the living hostages in the relevant category should be released.”

Lastly, the statement claimed that Israel didn’t introduce new terms regarding its veto over a certain number of prisoners that Israel would release, or its right to designate at least a certain number of prisoners who would be released abroad.

“The July 27 letter fully conforms with this condition as well. Thus, the July 27 letter does not introduce new terms. To the contrary, it includes essential clarifications to help implement the May 27 proposal,” the PMO wrote.

However, the statement didn't address the additional charge that Netanyahu added a new condition to the proposal that Israel would not withdraw IDF troops from the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt along the Philadelphi Corridor.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have claimed that Israel could leave the region to reach a deal, which Netanyahu has said would be a red line for him.

In addition, the Philadelphi Corridor wasn't fully under Israeli control until several days after the original outline was proposed.

Ahead of the Thursday summit, the U.S. began a diplomatic offensive across the region.

While U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled his planned visit due to security concerns, on Monday, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan asked White House Middle East coordinator, Brett McGurk, to travel to Egypt, while U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein went to Lebanon.

CIA Director William Burns is expected to fly to the Middle East for the talks, a source told The Wall Street Journal.

Biden admitted the difficulty of reaching an agreement amid the current tensions but stressed, “I’m not giving up.” Responding to reporters in New Orleans on Tuesday, Biden said he anticipates that Iran would refrain from its threatened attacks on Israel if a deal were reached.

“We want everybody to show up on Thursday and roll up their sleeves and get down to work,” Kirby said Monday but added, “And at the same time, we’re watching very, very closely what Iran and its proxies might do this week.”

Hamas announced it wouldn’t attend the negotiations on Thursday, and its newly-appointed political leader Yahya Sinwar stated on Monday that Israel must halt its military operations in Gaza first to demonstrate it is serious about securing a deal.