Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with ABC, excerpts of which were published Monday night, that Israel would not agree to a ceasefire with Hamas without the release of the hostages, and that after the war, Israel would have security responsibility in Gaza for an indefinite period. In the interview, Netanyahu did not rule out the possibility of pauses in the fighting in order to bring in humanitarian aid.
EXCLUSIVE: @DavidMuir interviews Israeli PM Netanyahu, pressing him on the Biden administration's calls for a humanitarian pause in Gaza as the death toll climbs; if he bears responsibility for intelligence failures on Oct. 7; and more. https://t.co/zjSKIi5FJF pic.twitter.com/LydTy5XtZf
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) November 7, 2023
During an interview with presenter David Muir on World News Tonight, the Prime Minister stressed that "there will be no general ceasefire in Gaza without the release of our hostages" and added that "regarding small tactical pauses, an hour here, an hour there, we have had them in the past, we will look at the circumstances to allow humanitarian goods in, or our hostages, lone hostages, to come out but I don't think there will be a general ceasefire."
"I will be among the first to answer all the questions"
Netanyahu continued: "I think this will delay the war effort. This will delay our effort to get our hostages out because the only thing acting on these Hamas criminals is the military pressure we are exerting."
If Hamas agrees to release all 241 abductees, then "there will be a ceasefire," Netanyahu said. Asked who should rule Gaza the day after the war, he replied: "Whoever doesn't want to continue in the footsteps of Hamas. I think that Israel will have to control the security of the Gaza Strip for an indefinite period of time, and it will have overall responsibility, because we have seen what happens when we do not have control."
The excerpts released tonight are only part of Netanyahu's interview, and the interview will be broadcast in full on the night between Tuesday and Wednesday. In an excerpt from the interview, Netanyahu was asked whether he bears responsibility for the intelligence failures that enabled the October 7 terrorist attacks. "I said there would be very difficult questions to be asked, and I would be among the first to answer them. The state is meant to protect its citizens, and we have failed to do so."
Toward the end of the ABC segment, Muir pressed Netanyahu on responsibility. The prime minister replied: "Of course (I have responsibility), it's not a question. We will discuss this after the war."
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