By Janet Ekstract ISTANBUL- According to the Times of Israel, it’s because Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing opposition from some officials in his own party on his hardline stances, that he reversed course on his withdrawal on sending a delegation to the White House to discuss Rafah. U.S. President Joe Biden and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken have made it clear to Netanyahu that it’s in his best interests to stand down from any invasion of Rafah. Biden told Netanyahu a week ago, that there are alternatives to such an invasion and that he needed to send Israeli officials to Washington to discuss the options. Currently, Netanyahu is planning on sending two top Israeli officials early next week for talks on the issue, according to Axios who learned from four U.S. and Israeli officials. Netanyahu rejected sending a delegation after the U.S. abstained in a new U.N. Security Council resolution, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and release of the hostages. In a press conference on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said “The Prime Minister’s office has agreed to reschedule the meeting dedicated to Rafah,” while adding that the discussions on the issue are “urgent.” According to sources, it’s expected that Netanyahu will send his Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and his National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi – both men are close to Netanyahu.
As Biden and Blinken had relayed to Israel, any offensive into Gaza would endanger Israel’s national security and alienate it from the international community. As Blinken said last week, any invasion of Rafah “would be a mistake.” Media reports indicated that Netanyahu had sent a private message to the White House on Tuesday, expressing that it was Hamas he intended to relay a message to by not sending a delegation to the U.S. Netanyahu said he wanted to show Hamas that international pressure on Israel will not get Israel to end the war unless concessions are made. Analysts view Netanyahu’s ‘tit for tat’ with Hamas as another example of his narcissistic need to insist on invading Rafah just to prove a point to Hamas and to the world about how powerful Israel is. Mass protests in Israel with calls for Netanyahu to resign have not helped the Israeli leader’s continued hardline stance in negotiations which are ongoing.
