US PRESIDENT Joe Biden seems to have put his personal credibility on the line by spelling out what he called a comprehensive three-phase Israeli proposal. He said “it is time to end this war” in Gaza and secure a “lasting ceasefire”. That fact alone ought to trigger hope, if not optimism.
As the contours of the proposal emerged in Biden’s statement to the media at the White House, many commentators pointed out that the deal wasn’t different from the one Hamas agreed to at the beginning of May, which was rejected by Israel. (The details of the deal on the table are covered in the news pages.)
As most of the diplomatic activity and negotiations take place away from the public eye, Biden’s statement, televised live across the world, suggested that prior soundings out of the parties may have happened and there was a good chance of the proposal being accepted.
The one major difference from the last time was that Joe Biden was sticking his own neck out and underwriting the agreement as he said the US, Qatar and Egypt will make sure that negotiations stay on track and that the parties to the conflict, ie, Israel and Hamas stay engaged. This meant a lasting ceasefire.
Even now if it can secure a ceasefire and keep a residual presence in Gaza, Hamas would not be a loser.
Minutes after the Biden address, Qatari sources confirmed to Al Jazeera that negotiators were in touch with Hamas to ascertain the latter’s reaction to the proposal. A little later, Hamas issued a statement saying they viewed the proposal “positively”.........