Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has hardened his rejection of Hamas’s demands for an end to the war on Gaza in exchange for the freeing of captives.
In a televised address, he asserted that any permanent ceasefire would allow the Palestinian group to remain in power and pose a continuing threat to Israel.
He noted that Israel was willing to pause fighting in Gaza to secure the release of the captives still being held by Hamas, believed to number more than 130.
“While Israel has shown willingness, Hamas remains entrenched in its extreme positions, first among them the demand to remove all our forces from the Gaza Strip, end the war, and leave Hamas in power.
“Israel cannot accept that … Hamas would be able to achieve its promise of carrying out again and again and again its massacres, rapes and kidnapping.”
Benjamin Netanyahu
Netanyahu’s statement dashes recent hopes that Hamas and Israel are close to a deal to bring about an initial 40-day pause to hostilities and the release of dozens of hostages.
Meanwhile, Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh said that the group is keen on reaching a comprehensive ceasefire that will end Israeli “aggression,” guarantee Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and achieve a serious captive swap deal.
Haniyeh, in a statement, also blamed Netanyahu for “the continuation of the aggression and the expansion of the circle of conflict, and sabotaging the efforts made through the mediators and various parties.”
Netanyahu Orders News Agency’s Closure
Also on Sunday, May 5, 2024, the Israeli Prime Minister announced his government’s decision to shut down Al Jazeera.
“The government headed by me unanimously decided: The incitement channel Al Jazeera will be closed in Israel,” Netanyahu posted on X.
The Knesset passed a law on April 1, 2024, that allowed the Prime Minister to ban Al Jazeera. He has now enacted that law.
In a post on X, Israel’s Minister of Communications, Shlomo Karhi, said that he has signed the orders against Al Jazeera, which will go into effect immediately.
Al Jazeera remains the only major broadcaster to report live from Gaza.
Hamas condemned Israel’s decision to shut down Al Jazeera, calling on international human rights and press groups to “condemn it and take punitive measures against it.”
The Palestinian group’s statement on Telegram called the move “a flagrant violation of press freedom.”
“The closure of Al Jazeera TV is a repressive measure and retaliation for the channel’s professional role in exposing the crimes and violations of the occupation in Gaza and the [occupied] West Bank,” it said.
A statement from the Al Jazeera Media Network strongly condemned and denounced “this criminal act that violates human rights and the basic right to access of information”
“Al Jazeera affirms its right to continue to provide news and information to its global audiences,” it added.
“Israel’s ongoing suppression of the free press, seen as an effort to conceal its actions in the Gaza Strip, stands in contravention of international and humanitarian law.
“Israel’s direct targeting and killing of journalists, arrests, intimidation and threats will not deter Al Jazeera from its commitment to cover, whilst more than 140 Palestinian journalists have been killed since the beginning of the war on Gaza.”
Al Jazeera
In the statement, the news agency urged all media freedom, human rights, and other concerned organisations to condemn the repeated attacks on journalists and the press by Israel, and to hold those responsible to account.
“The Network will pursue all available legal channels through international legal institutions in its quest to protect both its rights and journalists, as well as the public’s right to information,” it stressed.
“Targeting journalists is a crime,” the statement added
