Hamas signals openness to “permanent” truce if conditions like troop withdrawal are met by the Israeli side.
President Joe Biden revealed details of what he termed a “comprehensive new proposal” authored by Israel to finally halt its military campaign in Gaza through a phased ceasefire process aimed at securing an enduring peace agreement.
However, in a nationally televised address from the White House on Friday, Biden appeared to tacitly acknowledge doubts over whether the Israeli government was fully committed to implementing the plan he had just outlined.
“It’s time for this war to end, for the day after to begin,” Biden declared in calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities that have raged for over two months and killed over 2,500 Palestinian civilians according to Gaza health authorities.
The president said the three-phase Israeli proposal begins with an initial 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire to allow for urgent relief and medical supply deliveries into Gaza, which has faced catastrophic shortages amid the bombardment.
A subsequent one-year “cooldown period” would then follow, Biden explained, with Israel pulling back all ground troops from Gaza and both sides committing to halt rocket attacks and airstrikes while peace talks aimed at a permanent two-state solution are facilitated.
Finally, the third stage would focus on reconstruction and economic recovery in Gaza through international investment and the full reopening of borders to ease the longstanding Israeli-Egyptian blockade that has crippled the territory for over 15 years.
“This is a good plan that preserves Israel’s security while finally allowing the people of Gaza to rebuild their lives in peace and freedom,” Biden said of the proposal he said was crafted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. “Hamas leadership must now show the courage to accept it as a path forward.”
In a potentially worrying sign regarding Israel’s commitment, however, Biden then added: “While this was the Israeli government’s own initiative that I’m presenting today, I acknowledge their leadership has thus far declined to confirm they will follow through on its full implementation.”
The Israeli prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Biden’s remarks or the reported proposal. Netanyahu has faced intense domestic pressure from hardline factions to reject any overtures toward Hamas, which governs Gaza, unless its disarmament can be guaranteed.
For their part, Hamas officials signaled a potential openness toward the broad framework outlined by Biden – but emphasized any ceasefire would require concrete Israeli concessions.
“The resistance is prepared to deal positively with any proposal based on a permanent ceasefire, full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, reconstruction, the return of the displaced to all their places of residence, and the completion of a serious prisoner exchange deal,” a statement from the group’s political bureau said.
Whether Hamas’ seeming flexibility on Biden’s plan amounted to sincere intentions or simply an attempt to gain leverage for more favorable terms remained unclear.
One demand the militants stressed as non-negotiable was the release of over 1,000 Palestinians detained by Israel, including those captured during its latest Gaza offensive.
Such a condition could present a major sticking point with Netanyahu, whose domestic political survival hinges on projecting maximum defiance toward Hamas and opposition to any concessions that could be spun as capitulation to “terrorist” demands.
The Israeli leader is also increasingly preoccupied with fending off a potential indictment over corruption allegations at home, throwing his longer-term motivation and capacity to credibly pursue peacemaking into doubt.
Biden struck an optimistic tone during his address, however, asserting that his engagement had “won important new assurances” from both sides regarding their respective commitments to de-escalating the Gaza crisis through negotiations rather than further violence.
“Though the path ahead will demand difficult choices and compromises by all parties, I firmly believe we have a genuine opportunity to move from the perpetual cycle of violence and recrimination into a period of lasting peace, prosperity and hope for Palestinians and Israelis alike,” he stated.
The speech marked Biden’s most extensive public remarks on the festering military campaign to date. Previously, his administration had drawn criticism from some Democratic allies for what they viewed as a tepid response and unwillingness to exert more pressure on Israel over its indiscriminate use of force.
That tone appeared to shift following the Israeli bombing on the Rafah displacement camp that killed 45 Palestinian civilians sheltering there in early May. Biden warned Netanyahu in the aftermath that the strike appeared to cross American “red lines” and could jeopardize military aid flows if it was substantiated.
Whether those apparent threats resonate in Israel, or Biden’s outlined ceasefire plan gains real traction, remains uncertain. What seems clearer is that a prolonged bloody stalemate in Gaza cannot be permitted to continue, in the president’s assessment.
“The world has seen the horrific images and heard the heartbreaking tales of suffering in Gaza – an entire population being shattered, its homes, schools and very future torn asunder by advanced weaponry,” Biden said somberly. “The status quo has become unconscionable for all who believe in human dignity and democratic values.”
Yet the path toward extricating the crisis, even through Biden’s “comprehensive” proposal, appeared strewn with new obstacles at every turn.
For a White House bent on pivoting away from Middle East quagmires toward more pressing foreign challenges like strategic competition with China, the ever-intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict threatens to remain an all-consuming human rights sinkhole no matter what.
The stains of Gaza may have no true cleansing as long as the tides of history keep washing up the same cycles of oppression, uprising and devastation over and over again onto its blasted shores.
