In front of the cameras, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is sticking to his hard line until the end of the war Israel is waging with Hamas in Gaza. But behind the scenes, his government continues to work discreetly to secure a new hostage exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. What until two weeks ago seemed like a red line for Israel, the partial withdrawal of its troops, has become an element of negotiations with the Islamist group. That possibility is addressed in a new Washington-backed ceasefire offer that would see soldiers leave the most populated areas to allow the influx of large-scale humanitarian aid. Hamas has rejected the proposal because the Islamist organization says it is only considering a final ceasefire.
The offer consists of two clearly defined phases. The first would consist of a lull in fighting during which the exchange of hostages for prisoners would take place. In this initial phase, Israel would withdraw from the most populated areas of the Gaza Strip to allow the arrival of humanitarian aid and medical supplies entering the entire territory from Egypt through the Rafah crossing. Since aid began, the United Nations and its humanitarian satellite agencies in Gaza have repeatedly highlighted the enormous obstacle that the military's omnipresence poses to its distribution. In this first phase, the exchange would only affect the most vulnerable hostages and prisoners, Channel 13 News reported Wednesday.
The plan would also include a second phase that would include an exchange of women, soldiers and bodies that both parties would keep. If the deal goes through, Israel would accept the redeployment of its defense forces to other areas of the territory. The United States, which supports the bid, has been pressuring Israel for days to launch a third phase of the war in which it abandons its large-scale attacks on land, sea and air and replaces them with special forces operations and more surgical ones Interventions that minimize or end the daily toll of casualties – already at 21,320, 70% of whom are civilians, according to Hamas-controlled Gaza's Health Ministry – and the number continues to grow exponentially.
However, Hamas has so far rejected the proposal, as well as the proposal put forward three days ago by Egypt, one of the mediators between the Islamist group and the Israeli government. The spokesman for the Al-Qasam Brigades, the organization's armed wing, Abu Obeida, has assured that their goal is to “stop Israeli aggression.” “There are no agreements we can accept until the aggression against our people ends,” he said in an audio broadcast on Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera.
The offer from the government of Abdel Fattá al Sisi envisages not only a temporary ceasefire, but also the transfer of part of their power in Gaza and the West Bank to Hamas and Fatah, as well as the remaining Palestinian factions, to form a government. Palestinian group formed by technicians, the should focus on the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and the calling of elections in the two areas. The Egyptian plan was viewed positively by Israel, whose negotiators accepted it as a good starting proposal and welcomed the fact that, alongside Qatar, another mediator, Egypt, opened a new path. Despite the denial of Hamas and Islamic Jihad (which also has prisoners in its power), Cairo assured that it is still waiting for a response from both parties and that its goal is to “converge their positions” in order to end terrorism Wage war and restore stability in the region.
In the zero-sum game that encapsulates this conflict, Israel has taken steps to reach a new agreement, while Hamas has become increasingly hesitant, demanding a final ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of the military from Gaza territory to begin talks . Netanyahu publicly asserts that military pressure is the only way to secure the release of the hostages, citing the previous ceasefire in the last week of November as an example. But in reality, the Israeli prime minister is under strong pressure from the “Bring them home now” movement formed by the families of the abductees, which is demanding an immediate agreement, especially since the army mistakenly killed three of them and the rescue only took place after a few days in front of the bodies of five others. On Thursday, after meeting with them, the Prime Minister assured: “We are in contact right now. I cannot describe the situation in more detail. We are working to bring them. That is our goal.” The leaders of the Islamist organization are aware of the urgency and are taking advantage of it.
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Netanyahu's tough public discourse against Hamas (although behind the scenes he is seeking a new agreement for the hostages) is heavily influenced by the social support that the military campaign enjoys. According to a poll by the Israel Democracy Institute released on December 19, 81% of Israelis of Jewish descent believe that their country should not take the suffering of the Palestinian population in Gaza into account when planning its military operations there. Among the Arab-Israeli population – about 20% of the total population – the feeling is the opposite; 83% believe that minimizing the pain suffered by Gazans should be an element that should be taken into account by the government. Under these circumstances, it is normal for the Prime Minister to insist at every appearance that he will see the election campaign through to the end in order to achieve his goals.
But beyond that, the internal cohesion of his governing coalition is also at stake. As Yedioth Ahronoth columnist Sima Kadmon wrote last Monday, “Netanyahu wants the hostages released, but not at any price.” Not at the price of stopping the war, which would bring with it events that the Prime Minister doesn't want: [Benny] Gantz and [Gadi] Iron droppings [ambos ministros del gabinete de guerra por el derechista Partido de Unidad Nacional y excargos militares] They would leave the government and the Prime Minister would face enormous criticism from the far right, which could also lead to his departure [Itamar] Ben Gvir [ministro del Interior y líder ultra]“. According to a survey by the Institute for Democracy, two-thirds of Iraqis (69%) want elections to be called as soon as the war is over, a wish also held by the majority of right-wing voters.
“Unlawful homicide”
Meanwhile, Israeli attacks in Gaza continue. According to Gaza's health minister, at least 200 people died this Thursday in Rafah, on the southern border with Egypt, where tens of thousands of people have been sleeping on the streets for weeks, and in cities in the center of the Gaza Strip. Violence also reached several West Bank cities during the night, where soldiers moved in search of militants from Islamist organizations. The military attacks ended this morning with the deaths of two Palestinians in Ramallah, the administrative capital, and on the outskirts of Bethlehem.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has called on Israel to “end the illegal killings” of Palestinian citizens and “settler violence” in the West Bank, warning of a rapid deterioration in human rights in the Palestinian territory since the January 7 Hamas attacks October. The Austrian diplomat assured in a statement that “the resort to military tactics and weapons in the context of maintaining order, the use of unnecessary and disproportionate force and the application of widespread, arbitrary and discriminatory restrictions on the movement of Palestinians” are extremely worrying. ”
On the other hand, Israel gave this Thursday its preliminary approval for the creation of a maritime humanitarian corridor from Cyprus to Gaza, although details still need to be negotiated before the start of the project, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced. The EU country made the proposal weeks ago with the aim of significantly increasing deliveries, which now only reach the Rafah (to Egypt) and Kerem Shalom (to Israel) border posts.
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