Don’t get too happy or concerned, depending on your sympathies, about this apparent softening of Benjamin Netanyahu’s security stance. This is less of a concession than it is a challenge to the mediators, and especially to Egypt and the Biden administration in the US.
Having finally secured the Philadelphi Corridor and cut off Hamas routes of resupply, Netanyahu has remained adamant that the IDF will not withdraw. Just a short while ago, Netanyahu insisted that he could rethink this … as soon as his critics demonstrate how any other arrangement will keep Hamas from re-establishing its lines of communication:
“We also agreed to begin discussions about a permanent ceasefire,” he said as he referenced a conversation that would take place during Phase One of the three-phase deal US President Joe Biden unveiled on May 31.
“The conditions that we shall have for a permanent…
