After Hamas requested modifications to a three-phase plan backed by U.S. President Joe Biden in May, an Israeli delegation is scheduled to take up another round of conversations for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s business published a , statement , on Wednesday, acknowledging they had received Hamas ‘ latest notes on the design of a proposed peace and exchange of victims. Netanyahu’s business said,” Israel is evaluating the notes and will present its comment to the intermediaries”.
On a visit on July 4, Biden and Netanyahu further discussed the peace talks.
” President Biden and the Prime Minister discussed continued efforts to finish a peace deal together with the launch of hostages, as outlined by President Biden and endorsed by the UN Security Council, the G7, and countries around the world”, reads a White House , readout , of their visit, referencing the May agreement plan Biden endorsed.
In an effort to” shut out the deal,” Biden reportedly favored Netanyahu’s decision to have Israeli diplomats reengage with American, Qatari, and Egyptian negotiators.
The most recent Hamas counter-terms ‘ specifics are not yet known. According to an unnamed Palestinian national close to the talks, Hamas negotiators had dropped a requirement that Israel abide by a permanent peace before signing onto a three-phase agreement, according to Reuters . Instead, the official claimed that during the initial stage of captive exchanges, which are scheduled to last at least six weeks, negotiators had put together a long-term ceasefire plan.
Step one of the agreement includes an at least temporary peace, as Biden stated in May. Mediators you extend the transitory phase one stalemate beyond six weeks if negotiators need more time to put the second phase of the agreement into action.
In phase one of the three-phase program that Biden proposed in May, Israeli forces would withdraw from all occupied areas of the Gaza Strip. Hamas may, in turn, palm over people, wounded, and old hostages they took from Israel on Oct. 7.
In the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, Israel did also release hundreds of Arab prisoners held captive.
Biden recently referred to phase one of the agreement as the launch pad for the second and third stages. The second period of negotiations between Hamas and Israel may focus on putting an end to the fighting.
Israeli forces had completely keep the Gaza Strip during the second phase, and Hamas would release Israeli troops they had taken on October 7.
Reconstruction in the Gaza Strip may start in the second phase, and the remains of captives who were killed there during the fighting would be repatriated.
After Hamas returned the proposal next month with some unspecified requests for changes, it’s unclear what other terms might be on the table.
In the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu and his ruling coalition have pledged to completely eliminate Hamas ‘ military finger and system of government. Hamas has refused to accept their resignation as a condition for a long-term peace, and the program Biden laid out in May left it unclear how negotiations could proceed from phase one to step two of the ceasefire agreement without Hamas arming and disbanding their governance structure in the Gaza Strip.
Some Israeli military figures are beginning to doubt whether Hamas can be eliminated. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an Israeli military spokesman,  , said , in a June interview with Channel 13 news that Hamas represents an “idea” that is “rooted in the hearts of the people”. Hagari later added that erasing Hamas ‘ ideology requires more than simply destroying its organized fighting forces and removing its leaders from power in the Gaza Strip.
The New York Times , reported , this week that Israel’s military leadership would prefer a ceasefire that leaves Hamas in power in the Gaza Strip for now, while Israel shifts its focus to , a potential wider war to its north , with Hezbollah. Security officials who spoke with the New York Times, mostly on the condition of anonymity, claimed those Israeli military leaders are concerned about conserving munitions and fighting capabilities that have been exhausted by the Gaza Strip’s conflict for nine months.
Former Israeli national security advisor Eyal Hulata told the New York Times,” The military is in full support of a hostage deal and a cease-fire.”
Hulata, who still speaks frequently with Israeli military officials, continued,” They believe that they can always go back and engage Hamas militarily in the future.” They are aware that a pause in the conflict makes de-escalation more likely in Lebanon. They also believe that a pause in Gaza will give them more time to prepare in case a bigger war does break out with Hezbollah because they now have less ammunition, spare parts, and energy than they did before.
This article was originally , published , by , FreeBase News , and is reprinted with permission.
