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Journalism of Courage
An aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has indicated Israel’s acceptance of a peace deal with Hamas. Amid Israel’s continued military assault on Gaza for the last eight months, calls for a ceasefire have been growing globally. On Friday (May 31), US President Joe Biden spoke about the deal in an address and urged both parties to accept it.
Ophir Falk, described as Netanyahu’s “Chief foreign policy advisor” in The Sunday Times, told the newspaper that Biden outlined “A deal we agreed to — it’s not a good deal but we dearly want the hostages released, all of them.”
However, the newspaper report also said the deal’s acceptance would not go down well within a more right-wing section of the Israeli government, which was formed after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 last year.
Similar initiatives for an end to hostilities have failed in the past, and of late, members of the Israeli ‘war cabinet’ have expressed differing views on the state of the conflict. While many have demanded a clear path on how the war will end, others have outrightly rejected the possibility of a ceasefire with Hamas still in control of the Gaza Strip.
Biden’s proposal has three phases, in which the first phase would last for six weeks. It would include “a full and complete ceasefire”, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza, release of a number of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on October 7 — including women, the elderly the wounded — in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Over the years, Israel has often arrested Palestinians over charges relating to association with Hamas, or for activities against the Israeli establishment.
American hostages would also be released. Biden said Palestinian civilians would “return to their homes and neighborhoods in all areas of Gaza, including in the north”. Although, Israel’s military action has led to the large-scale destruction of vast regions in Gaza. Humanitarian assistance would be sent in the form of 600 trucks daily.
During the six weeks of phase one, Israel and Hamas would negotiate the necessary arrangements to get to phase two, which is a “permanent end to hostilities”. If the negotiations take longer, the ceasefire will still continue as long as negotiations continue, Biden said.
In phase two, there will be an exchange for the release of all remaining living hostages, including male soldiers. Israeli forces will withdraw from Gaza and as long as “Hamas lives up to its commitments”, a temporary ceasefire would become, in the words of the proposal, “the cessation of hostilities permanently”.
Finally in phase three, a major reconstruction plan for Gaza would commence and any final remains of hostages who have been killed would be returned to their families. Biden said Israelis should go into the deal with surety over their security, because “Hamas is no longer capable of carrying out another October 7.”
What has been the reaction to the deal?
A senior Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, told Al Jazeera that “Biden’s speech included positive ideas, but we want this to materialise within the framework of a comprehensive agreement that meets our demands.”
Within the Israeli government, right-wing leaders such as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have rejected the deal and threatened to pull their support.
Smotrich posted on X: “I have now spoken with the Prime Minister and made it clear to him that I will not be part of a government that will agree to the proposed outline and end the war without destroying Hamas and returning all the abductees.”
More centrist leaders, such as Benny Gantz, have signalled their acceptance. Yair Lapid, an opposition politician, said on X of The Sunday Times report: “The interview with the Prime Minister’s political advisor also proves that Israel has already announced that it has accepted the deal. If he retracts it now, it is a death sentence for the abductees and a crisis of trust with the Americans and the mediating countries.”
The plan is reportedly backed by the European Commission, the UK, Germany, France, Egypt, Qatar and other Arab governments.
What explains this reaction, and could the deal be successful?
The deal’s success will depend on multiple factors. In the past, ceasefire deals have been enforced temporarily to allow limited humanitarian aid in Gaza. However, long-term plans have fallen apart over Hamas demanding Israel’s military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip – which Israel has refused – and Israel demanding the “destruction of Hamas” itself.
In Israel, the war cabinet was brought together following the Hamas attack and consists of Netanyahu’s centre-right Likud Party, Ben-Gvir’s far-right Jewish National Front and some ultra-Orthodox Jewish leaders.
For Netanyahu, this gave his political career an extension of sorts because many Israelis were dissatisfied with him even before October 7. Protests had broken out multiple times over what was termed as his attempt to modify the country’s judicial system and curbing its autonomy through reforms. He had also faced several corruption charges.
But managing the current coalition has proved tough for Netanyahu, with hardliners demanding more stern action against Hamas and in Gaza. Meanwhile, more centrist leaders have criticised the current policy. Last week, Benny Gantz, who is considered Netanyahu’s main political rival, moved a Bill to dissolve the Parliament over a lack of plan of action regarding the war.
Israel’s actions have also drawn global condemnation for human rights violations, including from its staunchest ally, the United States.
For Biden too, with the US Presidential elections due in November and him seeking a re-election, his inability to persuade Israel to stop its military action has dented his popularity among voters. In these circumstances, a peace deal and ceasefire are being demanded from many quarters, but its path to fruition is not easy.
