Israeli prisoner families urge government to accept Biden's Gaza plan

Families of Israeli prisoners in Gaza have called on their government to accept US President Joe Biden's ceasefire plan and urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly support the proposal.

"We call on Israelis to take to the streets to ensure the implementation of the agreement," the Forum for Families of Hostages and Missing Hostages said at its weekly press conference on Saturday.

The forum believes Netanyahu may block the agreement after Biden said at a White House press conference on Friday that Israel had presented a "comprehensive new proposal" to end the war.

The three-phase plan outlined by Biden is aimed at achieving a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which would include the withdrawal of Israeli troops from all populated areas of the Gaza Strip and the release of all Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas has signaled it is open to the proposal, raising hopes that it could bring an end to Israel's eight-month-long war. The group said in a statement that it "confirms its readiness to actively engage and cooperate with any proposals based on a permanent ceasefire, complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, reconstruction, return of displaced people to their homes, and the detention of genuine prisoners of war, provided that the occupying power declares an explicit commitment to this."

And in a joint statement, the United States, Qatar and Egypt jointly called on Hamas and Israel to reach an agreement. But on Saturday, Prime Minister Netanyahu vehemently declared that Hamas must be destroyed to end Israel's Gaza war.

The office said in a statement that "Israel's conditions for ending the war remain unchanged: the destruction of Hamas' military and state capabilities, the release of all hostages, and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel." It said these conditions must be met "before a permanent ceasefire can come into effect." He added: "The idea that Israel will agree to a permanent ceasefire before these conditions are met is impossible."

The Forum for Hostages and Missing Families said Netanyahu is under pressure from his own government.

A spokesman said: "There is a minority that is blackmailing Prime Minister Netanyahu and threatening the agreement. We support the agreement and must not give the extremists a platform to play."

Posts on social media platforms will be transmitted. Abdullah Al Arian, a history professor at Georgetown University in Qatar, noted that there is a "big contradiction" in Israel's demands. Both Israel and its staunch ally, the United States, have said they do not want a future in Gaza where Hamas would still have some political role. "At the same time, this is an agreement that must be reached through negotiations with Hamas. So how do you do that? How to remove them as a political force while achieving a negotiated solution that all parties agree to ne told.