EPARook over Gaza City after an Israeli airstrike, photo from March 15, 2024
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 15:57
Hamas and Israel will soon resume negotiations on a proposed ceasefire. Anonymous Egyptian sources reported this to the Reuters news agency. The talks will take place in Qatar and may start as early as tomorrow.
The warring parties attempted to reach a deal until just before Ramadan, but those talks collapsed. The mediators – from Egypt, Qatar and the US – wanted a six-week truce. Hamas did not agree to it because there was no provision for a permanent ceasefire.
Hamas proposal
There has been some movement in the matter since the day before yesterday, when Hamas made a new proposal. This means that a six-week truce would first come into effect, during which Hamas would release 35 hostages. That would involve women, and sick and elderly hostages. In return, Israel would release 350 Palestinian prisoners.
In addition, Hamas would release at least five female Israeli soldiers in exchange for fifty Palestinian prisoners per Israeli soldier. This would also include Palestinians serving long sentences for terrorism. Furthermore, Israel should withdraw from two major roads in Gaza and allow displaced Palestinians to return to the north of the Gaza Strip. Furthermore, Israel should allow in unlimited aid.
ReutersPalestinians run with bags of flour near an Israeli checkpoint near Gaza City in early March
In the second phase of the truce, Israel and Hamas would agree to a permanent ceasefire and Hamas would release all remaining Israeli soldiers in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners. In the third and final phase, Hamas would return all the bodies in its hands, and Israel would lift the Gaza embargo and allow Gaza’s reconstruction to begin.
It is unclear how many Israeli hostages are still alive. According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, 134 hostages are still in the hands of Hamas and 123 have already been released.
Pressure on Israel and Hamas
Everything indicates that both parties are under pressure to reach an agreement quickly. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu initially called Hamas’s proposal “unrealistic”, but he nevertheless sent David Barnea, the chief of the Mossad secret service, back to the negotiating table on behalf of Israel, according to Reuters.
The Israeli government and Netanyahu in particular have come under heavy criticism in recent days from traditional friends in the US. President Biden sided with his party colleague, Democratic leader in the Senate Chuck Schumer, who said in a speech that Netanyahu and his government are no longer fit to lead Israel.
And it’s about more than just words. A recent decree from Biden gives Israel until March 25 to provide the White House with a written guarantee that the country will comply with international law when using American weapons. Israel must also pledge to facilitate, not prevent, aid to Gaza.
If Israel does not make or keep these promises, Biden could decide to suspend the sale of American assault weapons to Israel. That would amount to a fundamental change in the relationship between the US and Israel, Haaretz said.
Rafah
The Americans also leave no room for ambiguity about Netanyahu’s intention to launch a ground offensive in Rafah. The White House has made clear that there will be no US support for an invasion of Rafah without a credible plan to protect Palestinian civilians.
Netanyahu said earlier this week that he had given the green light to a ground offensive in the southern Gaza Strip city, where more than a million displaced Palestinians are temporarily sheltered. The Israeli army says it plans to evacuate these civilians to so-called “humanitarian islands” elsewhere in Gaza, but whether that would actually provide security is questionable.
Hamas also feels pressure to reach an agreement with Israel quickly. They fear the announced ground offensive in Rafah, the only place in Gaza where Hamas battalions are still present. A truce could be the only way to preserve Hamas’s remaining fighting potential.
2024-03-16 14:57:16
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