JERUSALEM — President Joe Biden’s description of Israel’s cease-fire proposal was “not accurate,” a senior Israeli official has told NBC News, as doubts grew Monday over the U.S. ally's stance on the deal.
Biden said in a surprise announcement Friday that he was outlining a truce proposal that had been made by Israel and passed by mediators to Hamas.
But the official called into question Biden’s description of the cease-fire offer as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — facing competing pressures from Washington and families of hostages on one side and right-wing ministers threatening to bring down his government on the other — said that Biden had put forward only a partial version of the Israeli proposal.
The official specifically disputed that Israel had agreed to fully withdraw its troops from the Gaza Strip as part of a deal to free the 125 or so hostages remaining in captivity there.
“Israel has not changed its conditions to reach a permanent cease-fire. That will only happen after our objectives are met including destroying Hamas’ military and governing capabilities,” the official said.
The official also said that while the White House described the plan as originating from Israel, it was actually a proposal put forward by mediators to which Israel had made amendments and changes.
“It’s strange that they say it’s an Israeli proposal and at the same time that Israel needs to agree to it,” the official said. The official added that Israel was awaiting Hamas’ formal response to the proposal.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/bide ... rcna155129