Remarks on a Potential Ceasefire Deal

[NerdWhoEatsMedlar]

President Biden Delivers Remarks on the Middle East

There is a potential ceasefire on the table.
Here's hope for more negotiations and a day after plan.

Qatar says they haven't heard from Israel or Hamas

Hamas haven't rejected the deal - what they have rejected is Israel persisting with only a temporary ceasefire stance

So not a lot has changed really IMO

It was in a statement given to Al-Arabi, the Israeli War Cabinet want guarantees to be able to continue the war after the ceasefire. Imagine the trauma caused to civilians by 40 days peace and then a return to full scale war.
http://english.almayadeen.net/latestnews/2024/6/4/israeli-kan-11--the-war-cabinet-unanimously-decided-to-deman#:~:text=United%20States...-,Israeli%20Kan%2011%3A%20The%

Thanks @BelleHathor

That’s not what the deal was though is jt.

I think they should agree to what was proposed (not the changes Israel seek) and let Netanyahu and co be the obstacle to peace. They were willing to launch an attack which prompted a mad dog response from Israel, so what is stopping them now. I don’t think refusing is going to help Palestine. Or is it that they are only willing to throw civilians under the bus? They aren’t willing to Martyr themselves.

@PeasfullPerson correct, the last deal that Hamas agreed to in Egypt was brokered by CIA director William Burns so any changes would have been authorised by him as he flew to the region. Netanyahu rejected it blaming the Egyptians and it was a PR win for Hamas.

There is no trust in any agreement without the ceasefire being permanent, with enforceable terms.

Everyone important knows that Netanyahu is the obstacle to peace .

https://x.com/MarioNawfal/status/1797771903211303368

I think that everyone needs to know, especially people in Israel.

From Israeli newspaper Haaretz:

Ultra-Orthodox Support Makes Hostage Deal More Likely, but Netanyahu Is Still Undecided

After both Haredi parties Shas and UTJ gave clear support for the Biden cease-fire proposal, Netanyahu has some insurance against his far-right partners' opposition, but as northern Israel burns and focus shifts to Lebanon, the hostage issue may again fade from center stage.

United Torah Judaism's public support of the U.S. proposal for a hostage deal is a resounding political event that creates real – and to a large extent, justified – hope for progress toward a deal. Shas' declaration of support, which followed a day later, merely underscored it.

From Al Jazeera…

Qatar says mediators have not yet received response from Hamas on latest truce

Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman has said Hamas is still studying a US-backed proposal for a truce that could potentially lead to a full a ceasefire.
Qatar has been one of the leading mediators seeking to facilitate an agreement between Israel and Hamas to pause fighting in return for the release of captives.
The latest proposal was introduced last week by US President Joe Biden, who said it had been put forward by Israel. However, Israeli officials have since given mixed messages over the plan, with some ministers threatening to resign if it is implemented.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz:

• ^Hamas welcomes "Biden's ideas," but the U.S. draft resolution presented at the UN Security Council was dependent on an Israeli cease-fire proposal Hamas had seen and rejected, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters. "The Israeli documents speak of open-ended negotiation with no deadline, and it speaks of a stage during which the occupation regains its hostages and resumes the war. We had told the mediators that such a paper wasn't acceptable to us," Abu Zuhri said.*

• ^Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Qatar's Al Araby that the organization has "a promise from mediators to continue efforts to confirm our demands."*

• A memo on the negotiations sent to Palestinian factions in Gaza states that the current Israeli proposal deviates from what President Biden presented, and that Israel intends to renew the fighting after it secures the release of some hostages, sources in Hamas told Haaretz.

• The U.S. and 16 other countries called on Israel and Hamas to "make whatever final compromises are necessary…to close this agreement, that Israel is ready to move forward with, and begin the process of releasing our citizens…it's time for this war to end."

• Relatives of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and dozens of activists protested on Thursday morning outside Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana's house in Tel Aviv.

UN security council endorses US-backed hostages-for-ceasefire Gaza deal

Only Russia abstains in vote on plan calling for hostage and prisoner swap in six-week ceasefire leading to wider deal

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/10/un-security-council-us-gaza-ceasefire

Hamas says it accepts UN ceasefire resolution and is ready to negotiate details – reports

Reuters has a quick snap that a Hamas official has told the news agency that the group accepts the UN ceasefire resolution, and is ready to negotiate over the details.

More details soon …
^^

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/blinken-says-hamas-signal-support-un-backed-gaza-truce-deal-is-hopeful-sign-2024-06-11/

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/6/11/israels-war-on-gaza-live-ray-of-hope-after-unsc-approves-ceasefire

I know many people don't like Al Jazeera, but in case anyone is interested, there's the link to what should be live coverage of speeches at the aid conference and about the ceasefire proposal

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cv225l8l7jzo

Thank you.

Re the Al Jazeera report on the ceasefire and hostage release proposal, it was a relief to hear that man (?) discuss what he said had everyone scratching their heads, which is that Biden tells the world this is Israel’s deal, when everyone knows Netanyahu does not want a ceasefirep, so how reliable is it really? And how would America back it up, seeing as America is really also Israel. I have been wondering that for a while.

Negotiate with who though?

It's a cynical ploy by the Biden administration, who have repeatedly said one thing and done the complete opposite, red lines anyone.

It's clear that Biden is in cognitive decline and some geopolitical experts have speculated that his foreign policy is being run by other people, likely Blinken and Jake Sullivan.
They both have their eyes on the Election in November. So the UN resolution is a sleight of hand meant to paint America as peacekeepers, fully aware that Netanyahu will never agree to it. They can then say to reluctant/angry voters "we tried, vote for me" whilst keeping the wealthy donors who support Israel happy as the war continues.
Here's a great thread by Greg J Stoker
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1800576848029794624.html

What he says seems very likely to be true.

This may well be the case, but if Hamas eventually accept it then they will be calling their bluff.

News about the possible ceasefire from Haaretz ( Israeli newspaper):

HOSTAGES/CEASE-FIRE: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Hamashad proposed "numerous changes"* in its response to a cease-fire proposal and that while some of the changes are workable, some are not*. Blinken said some of Hamas's proposals in the response go beyond what it had previously accepted in negotiations.

• Qatari and Egyptian mediators said Tuesday that Hamas responded to the U.S.-backed proposal with some "remarks." Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad said they were ready to "deal positively to arrive at an agreement" and that their priority is to bring a "complete stop" to the war.

• Hamas said it would return hostages' bodies in the first phase of a truce, demanding a full IDF withdrawal from Gaza for the swap. Hamas demanded that the deal stipulate an Israeli withdraw from all areas of Gaza in the first week of the deal's implementation, and that if Israel does not do so, the release of hostages will be halted.

• Hamas is also seeking a complete cessation of fire from the Israeli army and the withdrawal of the IDF from population centers on the first day of the cease-fire. On the third day, Hamas seeks an Israeli withdrawal from the Salah al-Din road. In return, Hamas offers to release three hostages – living and dead – every three days, totaling 33.

• Sources in Hamas told Haaretz that "The amendments submitted are intended to ensure that the withdrawal and cease-fire be established in the first phase, and that Israel will not be able to evade the implementation of all stages of the deal and return to fighting once all the hostages are released."

• Hamas also opposes any preconditions on which Palestinian prisoners could be released from Israeli jails in return, as well as their distancing from Gaza, and demands that their release be based on the amount of time they have spent in Israeli prisons. It additionally demanded in its response that China, Russia and Turkey be guarantors of the deal.

• While Hamas earlier on Wednesday had said its "positive" response opened a "wide pathway" to reach an agreement, Israel said the reply was tantamount to a rejection.

• White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that Hamas' proposed changes are minor and that the U.S. will work with Egypt and Qatar to bridge gaps in the proposal.