President Biden has threatened to partially cut off arms aid if Israel attacks Rafah.
Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu says he hopes that he and the President of the United States Joe Biden are able to reconcile their differences.
Netanyahu shared his views on Dr. Phil Primetime.
Tensions between the US and Israel escalated after Biden announced that he would suspend the supply of artillery shells and bombs to Israel if the country begins a major ground operation in Rafah in southern Gaza.
Netanyahu told how he and Biden have had disagreements all along the way, but they have been able to overcome them.
– I hope we can get over them now, but we [Israel] we will do what we have to do to protect our country, said the prime minister.
The United States does not accept the forced displacement of those in Gaza
The US opposes the forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza, the country’s foreign minister Antony Blinken says.
According to the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Blinken was spoken to by the Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukryn with about the situation in the area on the phone on Thursday. Blinken told his Egyptian counterpart that the United States still does not support a large-scale military operation in Rafah, in the southern part of Gaza, and does not accept the forced relocation of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
UNRWA, the UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees, said on Thursday that around 80,000 people had fled Rafah in the three days before Israel began what it described as a limited operation there.
In Israel, the right wing has hinted at the possibility of moving the Palestinians out of Gaza. The proposals have met with widespread opposition from, among others, the Palestinian Authority and Arab states.
Hamas: The ball is now in Israel’s court
The extremist organization Hamas announced early on Friday that its delegation participating in the truce negotiations had left Cairo for Qatar.
– In practice, the occupier (Israel) rejected the proposal presented by the mediators and opposed several key issues of the proposal, Hamas said in a message sent to other Palestinian factions.
– So the ball is now completely in the hands of the occupier, announced Hamas.
The negotiators left Cairo on Thursday after two days of negotiations, Egyptian media reported. Egypt, Qatar and the United States, acting as mediators, are now trying to bring the views of the parties closer to each other.
Hamas said on Tuesday that it accepts the truce proposal made by the mediators.
Sources: Reuters, AFP