Hopes began to build over the weekend. This Monday afternoon, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believes Joe Biden’s proposal for Gaza is “incomplete,” according to a government spokesman.
“President Biden’s plan is incomplete,” said Mr. Spokesman David Menser said, citing Netanyahu’s comments. The prime minister also estimated that “the war will be suspended with the aim of rescuing the hostages” before further discussions are held on how to achieve the war objective of eliminating Hamas. “Allegations that we agreed to a ceasefire without fulfilling our conditions are false,” Netanyahu said in a separate statement from his office.
Announced last Friday by US President Joe Biden, the first phase of a six-week ceasefire proposed by Israel is Israel’s withdrawal from heavily populated areas of Gaza and the release of some hostages, including women and the sick. and Israel holds Palestinian prisoners.
Always the same difference
The terms of the second phase must be negotiated during this first period “as long as Hamas respects its obligations.” If the talks drag on beyond that, the temporary ceasefire will be extended accordingly. And, according to the US president, it could become “permanent” because if concrete negotiations take place in Phase 1, the fighting must cease definitively and all Israelis still detained in Gaza must return home, including Israeli soldiers. A road map considered “positive” by the Palestinian Islamic movement.
But the sticking points remained. Hamas reiterated its demand for a permanent ceasefire and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Saturday that the “conditions” for achieving a “permanent ceasefire” had not changed and the “destruction” of the Islamist movement, which has been in power in Gaza since 2007, as well as the “release of all hostages”.
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