Israel’s foreign minister said any call for a cease-fire with Hamas is a “prize for terrorism,” after France, the UK and Germany urged efforts toward halting the war as the civilian death toll mounts.
International pressure is steadily intensifying against Israel in the third month of the war, including from the US, which is prodding the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to shift tactics.
A hardening of position, in the form of a joint letter by UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron and German counterpart Annalena Baerbock in the Sunday Times urging a “sustainable cease-fire,” was followed Sunday by French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna’s call for an “immediate and durable” truce.
“Any call for a cease-fire with Hamas is a prize for terrorism and we won’t agree to it,” said Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen. “Eliminating Hamas is an Israeli security interest but will also bring a better and more secure future for the entire region.”
He called on allies to “lend their support” in eliminating Hamas and returning the close to 130 hostages still held in Gaza since the Oct. 7 attacks against Israel.
The Israel Defense Forces revealed Saturday that three hostages mistakenly shot on Friday had emerged shirtless from a building in the Shejaiya neighborhood of northern Gaza during fighting, holding a makeshift white flag to signify surrender, and that one shouted “help” in Hebrew.
That development has inflamed protests against Netanyahu for not acting with urgency to free hostages held in Gaza following the end of a temporary cease-fire with Hamas more than two weeks ago.
Israel media and CNN reported Sunday that there has been progress in weekend talks between Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, and Qatar’s prime minister for prisoner exchanges to resume.
In their joint letter to the Sunday Times, Baerbock and Cameron wrote that “too many civilians have been killed” during Israel’s military assault on Gaza, emphasizing the need to “abide by international humanitarian law.” Their comments come days after US President Joe Biden called Israel’s recent bombing of Gaza “indiscriminate.”
Cohen in response said that Israel “operates and will continue to operate according to international law.”
The British and German diplomats said they understand that demanding an immediate end to hostilities isn’t the right approach. “It must be peace lasting for days, years, generations,” Cameron and Baerbock wrote. “We therefore support a cease-fire, but only if it is sustainable.”
Colonna met with Cohen in Tel Aviv on Sunday, a day after France announced that one of its diplomats died as a result of injuries sustained during Israeli bombing in Rafah, at the south end of the Gaza Strip.
À mon homologue @elicohen, j’ai redit l’attachement de la 🇫🇷 à la sécurité d’#Israël face au terrorisme, l’urgence d’une trêve humanitaire à #Gaza pour la libération des otages et l’accès humanitaire & l’importance de tout faire pour éviter une escalade avec le #Liban.
pic.twitter.com/J0EMx3NJjv
— Catherine Colonna (@MinColonna) December 17, 2023
Israel’s campaign started after the Islamist Palestinian group Hamas attacked southern Israel from the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people in towns, kibbutzim, army bases and at a music festival in the desert. About 240 people were taken hostage, more than half of whom remain captive.
The US is prodding Israel to shift the war from a crushing air and ground assault to an operation focused on targeting the leaders of Hamas, which is designated a terrorist group by the US and the European Union.
In their letter, Baerbock and Cameron highlighted the humanitarian plight of “children in the rubble of their destroyed homes, not knowing where to find food or water, not knowing where their parents are.”
“Israel will not win this war if its operations destroy the prospect of peaceful coexistence with Palestinians.” they wrote. “They have a right to eliminate the threat posed by Hamas. But too many civilians have been killed.”
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