President Biden has announced that Israel and Hamas have agreed to a “framework” for a cease-fire deal using the plan he laid out in May.
“Six weeks ago I laid out a comprehensive framework for how to achieve a ceasefire and bring the hostages home,” Biden announced on social media platform X.
“There is still work to do and these are complex issues, but that framework is now agreed to by both Israel and Hamas,” Biden added. “My team is making progress, and I’m determined to get this done.”
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A senior Israeli official involved in the negotiations later on Friday told Israeli news outlet Channel 12 that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was trying to hold up an agreement with demands for an enforcement mechanism that would prevent Hamas operatives from returning to northern Gaza.
“This is the moment of truth for the hostages,” the official said. “We can reach an agreement within two weeks and bring the hostages home.”
“The prime minister’s insistence on building a mechanism to prevent the movement of armed operatives will stall the talks for weeks and then there may not be anyone to bring home,” the official said.
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“It is a demand that was not part of the Israeli proposal from May 27,” the official explained. “It’s not clear why Netanyahu is raising this demand now. The security services know how to deal with the return of the armed terrorists to northern Gaza.”
Benjamin Netanyahu in operation room during hostage mission ( ISA (Shin Bet))
The Times of Israel reported that Netanyahu had insisted on the mechanism with the negotiating team on Thursday night but the team told him they opposed the new condition and it was not feasible. Channel 12 reported that some officials believe Netanyahu is trying to delay the deal as the right-wing parties have promised to exit his coalition if the deal is completed.
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A senior Biden administration source told Fox News earlier this week that this announcement was supposed to come out on Monday. The two sides had already agreed to the framework as of a few days ago and the U.S. sent a delegation out to the region to wrap it up and prep a formal ceasefire announcement.
It remains unclear what caused a delay in the announcement, but Biden has faced increasing calls to step aside and let another Democrat run as the nominee for president in November’s election.
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Biden has repeatedly stressed that he believes he is the only candidate able to beat former President Trump in an election, and during his press conference at the NATO summit in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, he explained that he believes continuity in leadership is important to achieve many of the foreign policy goals still on the table.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment by the time of publication.
Fox News Senior White House Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich contributed to this report.
