WASHINGTON: There is a big swing for United States president Joe Biden, but he remains defiant as he pushes for a three-stage agreement between Israel and Hamas, a deal that may see the return of dozens of Israeli hostages, release Palestinian detainees and stop the Gaza war which has lasted for almost eight months.
In addition to this, Biden’s move could also serve as an indication to his political base that was left in despair by his handling of the conflict during his tough reelection campaign that he is playing his part in ending this war which has killed over 36,000 people from Palestine while others are still struggling with poverty.
Biden made his position known on Monday through White House officials who disclosed that their decision to disclose what they refer to as an Israeli proposal one day after it was received by Hamas had been informed by the wish to put it on the spot. This deviated from America’s policy during this conflict where Israelis were free to speak out about hostage negotiations.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said “The president felt…that we need to take a different approach while we are at war, and we need to publicize our offer so as to make things happen”.
After unveiling this plan whose main stipulation is that all hostages must be freed before there can be a cease-fire accompanied by phased withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza; Netanyahu’s office instantly responded saying it will continue fighting until Hamas is wiped out.
Nevertheless, even though Hamas accepted these proposals it would mean challenging political calculations for Netanyahu. Two influential members of his far-right coalition Itamar Ben-Gvir (Minister of National Security) and Bezalel Smotrich (Finance Minister) have threatened to withdraw support if these compromises are made by him. Consequently, Netanyahu’s coalition collapses.
Moreover, families of the hostages have been putting pressure on Netanyahu to come to a deal, with 80 people who were captured in the October 7 attack by militants still being alive and Hamas holding the bodies of another 43. Notwithstanding, over the weekend, opposition leader Yair Lapid pledged that he would provide political lifejacket for Netanyahu to ensure that his government would not be brought down by this agreement.
The Biden administration however said it was cautiously optimistic it can strike a deal as the proposal faces tough resistance.
At the US Global Leadership Conference in Washington last week, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told world leaders to back the plan.
“They need to fix their eyes on Hamas this week and say it’s time to get around the table and make this deal,” Sullivan told an audience at the US Global Leadership Conference in Washington.
To achieve this goal, Biden spoke on Monday with key Hamas interlocutor Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar saying it was “the best possible opportunity for an agreement”, according to White House spokesperson made known during briefing yesterday.
US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield revealed that Washington has circulated a draft resolution asking other 14 members of UNSC for support towards this proposal.
Simultaneously, Sullivan held talks with his Turkish counterpart Akif Cagatay Kilic about Turkey’s help in bringing Hamas round to accepting the offer. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey had defended Hamas and in April hosted talks with its political leader Ismail Haniyeh.
On Monday, other Group of Seven leaders also endorsed the deal.
In a statement, G-7 leaders called on Hamas for acceptance of an Israel-backed deal as well as urged countries with leverage over them to facilitate such acceptance.
Biden admitted last week that making progress beyond phase one would be difficult.
This first stage would run for six weeks and includes a cessation of hostilities; withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza’s densely populated areas; and release of women, elderly and injured victims alongside a few hundred Palestinians in exchange.
As per the agreement, six hundred humanitarian aid trucks would be allowed into Gaza each day throughout the first phase. Phase 2 consists of freeing all other hostages who are alive including male soldiers and the Israeli forces will retreat from Gaza.
Hamas is expected to make huge demands for which Palestinian prisoners will be released as well as compel Israel to stop going after top Hamas leaders.
Israeli officials in fact take a much longer view of this conflict.
The Israeli national security advisor, Tzachi Hanegbi, had predicted a stalemate for at least seven more months that will eventually lead to the complete destruction of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s military and governance capabilities. However, with less than 5 months to go before Election Day in the US, Biden is now under increasing pressure to find a swifter solution to the Middle East conflict that is sapping his public support.
