What Prime Minister Netanyahu did last night was trying to prepare the Israeli public to the possibility of the big plan

that includes a full military occupation of the Gaza Strip or trying to pressure Hamas to this intermediate deal,

according to the vision of Steve Whitkoff.

If you want to do something that has never been done before,

to send the highest number of soldiers ever sent to a front in a war that Israel has fought since 1948,

you must convince Israelis that you have had no other choice.

It's 10 p.m. on Sunday, April 20th, here in New York City, as we come out of the Pesah holiday and resume eating Hamets bread.

It's 5 a.m. on Monday, April 21st in Israel, as Israelis get back off a vacation and back to work.

One housekeeping note before we get into today's conversation, Tuesday, May 13th, I will be delivering the state of world jury address at the 92nd Street Y.

I've been told that there are still seats available for those who want to register.

I am not certain of that, but we will post the link into the show notes for those who are interested.

Now on to today's conversation.

Last night, in an attempt to address two of Israel's most critical security concerns,

the hostage crisis in Gaza and the U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a pre-recorded statement in which

he said that Hamas has formally rejected Israel's offer for a new deal and more than 18 months

since the outbreak of the war and with 58 hostages still being held in Gaza, Natanyahu said

that, quote, we will increase the pressure on Hamas and

complete the missions, close quote. And against the backdrop of a report from the New York Times,

the President Trump had headed off Israeli plans for a military operation against Iran's nuclear

program. Natanyahu emphasized and I quote,

we are committed to preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Close quote.

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