Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called Monday for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seal a Gaza truce deal immediately, as he met top US officials in Washington.
“I believe that any political interests should be set aside for this. This is way more important,” Lapid told reporters outside the State Department after meeting Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“Israel as a nation will not heal unless we will bring them back home,” Lapid said of the hostages. “This is essential to our existence.”
“It’s doable,” he said. “We can do a hostage deal — and we need to do it.”
Lapid, a former prime minister, renewed his promise not to work to topple Netanyahu’s government — which relies on support from far-right members — if he goes ahead with the deal.
While describing Hamas as a “terrible terrorist organization,” Lapid said that Netanyahu’s government “should do more” to reach a deal to free hostages.
US President Joe Biden on May 31 put forward a plan for a ceasefire in the bloody Gaza war that would include a six-month freeze in fighting and a release of captives.
Blinken has previously insisted that Netanyahu was on board with US proposals to bridge gaps and complete the deal, which enjoys wide support from the Israeli public.
Netanyahu has publicly rejected US assessments that the deal is nearly complete and has insisted on an Israeli military presence on the Egypt-Gaza border, angering Cairo.
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