Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said that Israel remains “ready for a complete deal” to end the war with Hamas, despite its strike on Tuesday which targeted the Hamas delegation in Qatar as it was reviewing the latest ceasefire proposal.
Hamas was expected to respond Tuesday evening to the latest US-backed proposal for a Gaza ceasefire, a diplomat briefed on the talks told CNN earlier, before Israel’s strike on Doha disrupted the plans.
Asked by CNN whether Israel’s strike on Doha showed it is not interested in a ceasefire, Herzog stressed that Israel wants to see an end to the war.
“Israel made clear yesterday … that it is ready for a complete deal, the end of war, getting our hostages back and moving forward. This is what Israel is willing to do, and it’s waiting and waiting and waiting, and we see all the time how they (Hamas) manipulate the proposals,” Herzog said Wednesday at an event at Chatham House, an internationally renowned think tank in London.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu only said that Israel had accepted the new US proposal hours after carrying out the attack in Doha.
Also in the discussion, Herzog claimed that Israel had accepted ceasefire proposals “almost for the last year or so,” claiming that Hamas often inserted a “poison pill” in the negotiations.
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said earlier this year that he had repeatedly foiled ceasefire deals.
Earlier Wednesday, Herzog met British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London, saying the pair had a “tough” discussion, with the UK set to recognize a Palestinian state later this month.
