Netanyahu tells settlers there is no operation to retrieve captives

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli Media
23 Jan 2024 01:51

Israeli media quote Israeli ministers who attended the cabinet meeting as saying there is no plan to return the captives taken by the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza.

Palestinians burn a photo of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a protest in Ramallah, West Bank, occupied Palestine, January 10, 2024 (AP)

Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the families of Israeli captives taken by the Palestinian Resistance during Operation al-Aqsa Flood that "there is no operation on the agenda" to return those captured, Israeli reports citing individuals familiar with the matter said.

Israeli ministers and the families of the captives who attended the cabinet meeting both attested that Netanyahu said there was no operation planned out for returning their children.

The Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper explained that those who attended the meeting had the impression that Netanyahu "would agree to difficult concessions," including an en masse release of Palestinian prisoners. However, he was not willing to end the war, citing that "Israel would be asked for international guarantees that do not allow [the] renewal [of the war]."

Moreover, Netanyahu argued it would be difficult to stop the fighting and then resume it "in light of the ongoing legal proceedings in the International Court of Justice in The Hague," which accuses the occupation of committing genocide in Gaza.

Israeli occupation Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich believes that the claim that Israeli captives in Gaza can be released and then "Israel" could go back to fighting and eliminate Hamas is "science fiction."

The Knesset Channel quoted Smotrich as saying that he would not agree to a deal that includes a ceasefire with Hamas, adding: "You can say that releasing the captives and going back to fighting and eliminating Hamas is science fiction."

It is worth noting that Smotrich and Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben Gvir always urge in their extremist statements to continue fighting and continue the war with the declared aim of destroying the Gaza Strip.

War objective not to be realized

Former Israeli Reserve General Yitzhak Brick said on Wednesday that the Israeli occupation will not be able to achieve its main war objectives of ending Hamas and its political and military capabilities or retrieving the captives, and this failure would impose on the occupation entity paying a very heavy price.

In a Haaretz op-ed, Brick explained that the upcoming phase of the war on Gaza will be extremely difficult for "Israel", as it will face several barriers that it has no solutions for so far.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that the option of an attack to isolate Gaza from Egypt is on the table. The military plan aims to occupy the Philadelphi Route or Corridor, a region extending between the Gaza-Egypt border, which Rafah is at the center of, to block Resistance tunnels and routes.