Netanyahu said to reject negotiators’ bid to formulate new hostage deal proposal

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday rejected proposals by Israeli negotiators for renewing indirect talks with Hamas for a hostage release deal, according to reports by major Israeli networks on Sunday.

According to the Times of Israel, the reports on Kan and Channels 12 and 13 said Netanyahu shot down the suggestions and upbraided the negotiating team, led by Mossad chief David Barnea, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and IDF general Nitzan Alon, telling them “this is not how to run negotiations.”

Channel 12 reported that negotiators suggested drafting a new offer to present to the terror group that would address its desire for “sustained calm” in any deal.

According to Kan, Netanyahu said: “All these proposals will lead to an end to the war. We tried and made significant overtures. Hamas rejected everything.”

Channel 12 quoted war cabinet minister Benny Gantz as retorting: “It is apparent you are unhappy with [negotiators’] work. If that is so, replace them and bring someone you trust and believe in.”

When Netanyahu responded that he “will not agree to any proposal that ends the war,” Gantz’s fellow party member minister Gadi Eisenkot was quoted as saying: “No one here wants to stop the war, but your position does not allow us to bring back the hostages. You’re not leaving the team with any possible path toward reaching a deal.”

A minister in the war cabinet told Kan, “After yesterday’s meeting it has become clearer that Netanyahu doesn’t want a deal” while others present said “We saw the despair in the eyes of Nitzan Alon and his senior aide after the meeting. They seem to have come to a final realization that there will be no deal.”

Sources close to Netanyahu told the network that “the claims are untrue” and that the premier “is working around the clock to bring about the release of all our hostages.”

An unnamed senior official told Channel 13 the negotiations were at their lowest point since talks began.

The most recent round of hostage talks disbanded earlier this month and negotiations have yet to reconvene, with the sides unable to bridge the gap on the fundamental issue in the talks: Hamas is looking for a hostage deal that permanently ends the war triggered by its October 7 onslaught, while Israel is only willing to agree to a temporary ceasefire, as it aims to finish dismantling the terror group.

The latest reports comes after Gantz on Saturday night issued an ultimatum to Netanyahu, demanding that he commit to an agreed-upon vision for the Gaza conflict that would include stipulating who might rule the territory after Hamas’s defeat, and warning that he would bolt the coalition should this not happen within three weeks.