Hanegbi in subtle dig at Netanyahu: Israel must firmly back hostage deal

Israel must give its 100% support to the three-phase hostage deal which US President Joe Biden unveiled on May 31 because time is not on the side of the captives, National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi told the 21st Herzliya Conference on Monday.

“We need to stand firmly behind this, together with the whole world,” he said, adding that it begins the process of returning the remaining 120 hostages.

Hanegbi’s words were a subtle dig at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who on Sunday said he partially supported the deal and those in the government who have vocally opposed it, such as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Netanyahu then backtracked in the Knesset plenum, pledged his support to the deal, and admitted that it was actually an Israeli proposal.

'Time is working against the hostages'

Hanegbi said on Tuesday that “Time is working against the hostages,” adding that this is why the issue has to be prioritized adding that he was among those who are optimistic that an agreement was possible, even though almost a month has passed and Hamas has not accepted the deal.

“I think that given the tremendous international pressure on Hamas today, there is a chance that it will do something,” Hanegbi said. He referenced the United Nations Security Council Resolution to back the deal, noting that even those countries that usually side with Hamas, supported the resolution or didn’t oppose it

That resolution was based on “the Israeli proposal for a deal that was adopted by Biden,” he said.

“There's tremendous pressure on Qatar. And it is placing also pressure on its side on the Hamas leadership in Qatar to accept this deal as it is,” Hanegbi said. It’s possible that both the regional and the international pressure could be effective, he added.

Hanegbi recalled that he had just returned from Washington, where he and Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer met last week with US officials, including US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. 

“We had a very intimate conversation very much focused on the issue of hostages,” Hanegbi said.

“It’s our impression that the US's commitment to the deal is 100%,” Hanegbi said, adding that everyone actually heard how strongly Biden backed it, when he delivered a speech on it at the end of May.

Hanegbi also delved a bit into plans for what Gaza would look like once Hamas no longer controls the enclave of some 2.3 million Palestinians that it has forcibly ruled after ousting the Palestinian Authority in a bloody coup in 2007.

Israel has emphasized that the elimination of the terror group is the first step to creating a new reality in Gaza, but Hanegbi noted the obvious that although the IDF is finishing up the intense phase of fighting, completely eliminating the terror group in Gaza could take time. 

So movement on a plan must already begin to happen, he explained.

“We don't need to wait for Hamas to disappear because maybe that process will take a long time,” he said. 

“Once Hamas no longer has the ability to lead the military and governmental and administration systems as it did before October 7, then this will give a greater opportunity for countries who truly want to see a governmental alternative in Gaza along with local leadership in Gaza to be mobilized,” Hanegbi said.

The cabinet has authorized the IDF to lead a process of finding an initial alternative, starting with north Gaza in the near future, Hanegbi said.

“You cannot completely get Hamas to disappear because it's an idea, a concept. So you need a competing, an alternative concept and that would be a local leadership willing to live side by side with Israel and not to devote its life to killing Israelis,” Hanegbi said. 

“This is what needs to happen,” he added. 

By necessity, he explained, the US and the Arab countries are expected to play a leading role in shaping Gaza the day after Hamas is gone. Any proposal, any suggestion which is an Israeli proposal, won't happen because anybody who would cooperate would lose their legitimacy in the Palestinian society.”

“We’re talking about leadership that “won't only be bottom up, but also top down,” he said.

The United Nations and Europe would also be involved in the process of resigning Gaza, Hanegbi said.

“Most countries in the world would like to see moderate, pragmatic and realistic alternatives to Hamas in the Gaza Strip. And this is why Israel should be the one that perhaps allows for the conditions in the sense of eliminating from the area from any significant Hamas operatives,” he said.

“Those who will lead it, those who need to manage it” that would be “a local Palestinian leadership with the backing of Arab countries and the international community,” Hanegbi said.  

With regard to the IDF-Hezbollah war in the north, Henegbi said that US envoy Amos Hochstein was leading efforts to reach a diplomatic initiative and was in very close contact with the Israelis as well as Lebanese government officials.

“He's optimistic” that a diplomatic arrangement is possible once the IDF finishes the intense phase of the Rafah fighting, Henegbi said.

“If we won't reach an arrangement through diplomatic means, then everybody understands that we'll need to achieve it in different means. But for now, we are focusing on the diplomatic arena” as the best way to restore calm in the north, he stressed.