Saudi Arabia presses for Palestinian state, Netanyahu rejects ceasefire, Israeli hostage protest
All the latest developments from the Israel Hamas war.
Saudi Arabia will not recognise Israel without Palestinian state
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister has said the kingdom will not normalise relations with Israel or contribute to Gaza’s reconstruction without a credible pathway to a Palestinian state.
Prince Faisal bin Farhan’s remarks in an interview with CNN broadcast late on Sunday were some of the most direct yet from Saudi officials.
The dispute over Gaza’s future puts the United States and its Arab allies against Israel, posing a major obstacle to any plans for postwar Gaza.
Before the war, the US had been trying to broker a landmark agreement in which Saudi Arabia would normalise relations with Israel in exchange for US security guarantees, aid in establishing a civilian nuclear programme in the kingdom, and progress toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Relatives of Israeli hostages storm parliamentary committee
Dozens of family members of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza burst into a meeting of the Finance Committee in the Israeli parliament on Monday, shouting ‘You won’t sit here while they die over there!
On Sunday night, family members set up a protest tent in Jerusalem, vowing to stay until the government makes a deal to free some hostages.
Hostage families have stepped up their protests in recent days, demanding that the government do more to free their loved ones.
All this on a day when European Union (EU) foreign ministers are hosting their Israeli and Palestinian counterparts – in two separate meetings – to discuss the prospects for peace in the Gaza conflict.
Netanyahu rejects Hamas’ ceasefire demands
Israel’s prime minister released a video statement on Sunday in which he said he stressed in his conversation with US President Joe Biden on Friday that he rejects Hamas demands for a ceasefire.
Benjamin Netanyahu also ruled out withdrawing Israeli forces from Gaza and releasing Palestinians held by Israel in exchange for the remaining hostages.
He said that agreeing means another 7 October-style attack “would only be a matter of time.”
Israel strikes Hezbollah military infrastructure
The Israeli military said it carried out a series of strikes on Hezbollah’s military infrastructure in southern Lebanon on Sunday.
The IDF said the strikes took place in the area of Markaba and Kafr Kila.
Israel is determined to see tens of thousands of its citizens return to communities near the border with Lebanon that were evacuated under Hezbollah fire nearly three months ago.
But since Hamas’ surprise attack on 7 October, it may no longer be able to tolerate an armed Hezbollah presence on the other side of the frontier.
Israeli leaders have repeatedly threatened to use military force if Hezbollah does not respect a 2006 UN ceasefire that ordered the militant group to withdraw from the border.
