Israel Accepts US President Biden's Armistice Agreement Although Not The Best

Israeli military land operations in Gaza. (Source: Israel Defense Forces)

JAKARTA - Israeli officials said their country accepted the proposed ceasefire agreement in Gaza from the President of the United States, although it was not the best and needed more to be done.

In an interview with the UK's Sunday Times Chief Advisor to Foreign Policy for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ophir Falk said, "President Biden's proposal is not a good deal but we really want the hostages to be released, everyone".

"There are many details to be worked on," he said, adding that Israel's terms, including "the release of the hostages and the destruction of Hamas as a genocide terrorist organization" did not change.

Last Friday, President Biden revealed what he described as a three-phase plan put forward by PM Netanyahu's Administration to end the war.

The first phase includes a ceasefire and repatriation of several detained Hamas hostages, after which both sides will negotiate over the indefinite cessation of hostilities for the second stage where the surviving prisoners will be released, President Biden said.

The sequence appears to imply Hamas will continue to play a role in additional arrangements mediated by Egypt and Qatar, a potential clash with Israel's determination to continue the campaign to eliminate the Iran-backed Islamist group.

President Biden said his latest proposal "creating a better 'day after' in Gaza without Hamas in power". He did not specify how this would be achieved, admitting "there are a number of details that must be negotiated to go from phase one to phase two".

Falk reiterated PM Netanyahu's position, "there will be no permanent ceasefire until all our goals are met".

The leader of Uncle Sam's country has previously praised several ceasefire proposals over the past few months, each with a similar framework to the one he described on Friday, all of which failed.

In February he said Israel had agreed to stop fighting ahead of Ramadan, the holy month of Muslims which began on March 10.

The main obstacle is that their Israeli insistence will only discuss the temporary pause in fighting after Hamas is destroyed. On the other hand, Palestinian militant groups say they will release the hostages only on a permanent path to the end of the war.

On the other hand, Hamas temporarily welcomed Biden's initiative, although senior official Sami Abu Zuhri said yesterday, "Hamas is too big to pass or ruled out by Netanyahu or Biden."

The day before, another Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, told Al Jazeera: "Biden's speech includes positive ideas, but we want this to materialize within the framework of a comprehensive agreement that meets our demands."