US President Joe Biden on Friday detailed a three-phase deal proposed by Israel to Hamas that he says would lead to the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza and could end the conflict.
But Hamas might find that deal hard to swallow since Tel Aviv will have an absolute say over the future of the Palestinian enclave.
Despite its unfairness to Hamas, it is still notable for being drastically different from the Israeli Cabinet’s long-term stance that Hamas has to be eliminated from Gaza before a ceasefire is put on the agenda.
The proposal can be seen as a de facto compromise of Tel Aviv under the pressure of the international community and domestic opposition over the war, as well as the pressing of the Biden administration, which does not want to be seen as a warmonger in the presidential election.
That US congressional leaders on Friday invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to deliver an address at the US Capitol is part of the Biden administration’s efforts to prevent the Netanyahu government from pulling back from the proposal.
In a response to Biden’s call, Tel Aviv said that “the war will not end until all of its goals are achieved, including the return of all our abductees and the elimination of Hamas’ military and governmental capabilities”.
In saying that the “exact outline” proposed by Israel must be followed by Hamas, the Israeli side has made it clear that it reserves no space for any negotiation with the militant group. It also shuns the question on what role Hamas will play in its proposed future for Gaza.
So as Biden acknowledged, keeping the Israeli proposal on track will be difficult as there are a number of “details to negotiate” to move it forward.
Even to third parties, the proposal is fundamentally against the two-state solution of the Palestinian question, as Israel, if not the US, will have an absolute say over the rebuilding of Gaza. Not to mention that it makes Hamas’ unconditional following of the proposal a prerequisite for Israel to allow certain amounts of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians it has besieged in Gaza.
A ceasefire negotiation should be carried out on an equal footing. The proposal is nothing but a wishful thinking of Tel Aviv that has been made public due to the domestic and international pressure it faces to end the war. But before the US stops providing weapons to Israel, all the “pro-peace” talk of Washington and Tel Aviv is just stuff and nonsense.