Reactions varied inside Israel to the speech delivered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Congress, in which he touched on the Gaza war as the main issue of his speech, which lasted about 55 minutes.
While Israeli media reports and activists on social media praised Netanyahu's speech, considering it to have generated momentum toward their country's positions on the current war, on the other hand, it represented "frustration" for the families of the hostages who were waiting for the Prime Minister to address the developments of the deal and the approaching release of their relatives.
The New York Times reported that Netanyahu “did not mention the ceasefire, nor did he discuss the status of the deal that Israel and Hamas have been negotiating for weeks and which the Biden administration desperately wants to implement,” but he only said that “the war could end if Hamas surrenders and disarms.” "And returned the hostages."
On the other hand, the Axios website considered that Netanyahu tried to use the speech to reaffirm his leadership in Israel, where opinion polls show that more than 70 percent want his resignation, explaining that Netanyahu’s speech came at a “critical moment” in the negotiations over the Gaza hostage agreement and the ceasefire. But the Israeli Prime Minister barely mentioned this issue.
Shortly before the speech, Netanyahu's office admitted that the prime minister had canceled the planned visit of Israeli negotiators to Qatar on Thursday, citing Netanyahu wanting to meet US President Biden before the delegation went to Doha.
Netanyahu's messages
In turn, Israeli political analyst Shlomo Ganor said that Netanyahu's accompanying a group of kidnapped families, a freed hostage, and a number of fighters to the Congress hall, and detailing their role during the war, contributed to passing the message about "the brutality of Hamas and the conflict with it, and the necessity of continuing the war until the movement is destroyed." .
However, Ganor explained in his interview with Sky News Arabia that Netanyahu refrained from revealing the details of his position regarding the kidnapped deal and the ceasefire, which angered the families of the kidnapped, who are hopeful that the Prime Minister’s position may change tomorrow in his meeting with President Biden.
On Thursday, Netanyahu will meet with Biden and Harris, and they are expected to pressure him to make progress towards a ceasefire and a hostage release agreement with Hamas, after weeks of talk about the widening gap of differences between them.
Regarding the consequences of Netanyahu’s speech, Ganor believes that “the Israeli Prime Minister has largely regained the international personal standing he lost as a result of the war, and has also strengthened Israeli-American ties despite the disagreement with President Biden, identified Iran as a common enemy of the two countries, and implicitly supported Trump’s campaign, drawing part of the His vision for the future of the Gaza Strip.
He stressed that Netanyahu proved to his supporters in Likud that he is still a "first-class" personality, and that despite international pressure and internal problems, he is determined to face challenges.
Criticism about "hostages"
Israeli political analyst Eli Nissan believes that the Israeli interior "was astonished by Netanyahu's giving a speech of this kind to the American people." However, there was criticism from the families of the kidnapped and opposition leader Yair Lapid, who complained that the Israeli Prime Minister did not extensively address the issue of liberating the hostages. Efforts to reach an agreement that secures the return of the 120 hostages, whether alive or dead.
Lapid considered the Prime Minister's speech before Congress a disgrace, saying on his account on the
Nissan said, "This was the main point that witnessed prominent criticism of Netanyahu's speech."
Netanyahu had said that he was confident that efforts to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza would succeed, adding: “We are actively participating in intensive efforts to secure their release. I am confident that these efforts will succeed.”
Nissan pointed out that "Netanyahu actually gained new momentum after delivering the speech, as he enjoyed great popular following, even his critics, in addition to appearing as a strong man before the American people as well."
He pointed out that Netanyahu tried in his speech to talk to the Republican and Democratic parties and find a common denominator between them, aiming to push the American administration to provide the necessary aid to Israel to continue its war on Hamas.
Two files are missing
In turn, Israeli political analyst Joab Stern confirms that there are two main issues that were absent from Netanyahu’s speech to Congress, which are negotiations with Hamas to release the hostages, as well as responsibility for what happened on October 7th.
Stern told Sky News Arabia that: “He truly disappointed the families of the kidnapped, as he did not address at all the issue of the deal with Hamas and the negotiations that are currently taking place, and this contradicts his talk about his immediate acceptance of the deal, but in doing so he continues to procrastinate in the negotiations, and thus he did not meet the expectations of many.” From the Israelis.”
He added: "He also did not take responsibility for what happened, as if he were not prime minister on October 7."
The Israeli analyst considered that "Netanyahu cannot deliver the same speech inside Israel, because what is absent in his speech is more important than what is present in it."
Source: Sky News Arabia
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