U.S. President Joe Biden laid out a new Israeli proposal for a hostage and cease-fire agreement with Hamas on Friday, describing it as a “road map” to an “enduring cease-fire” in Gaza that would secure the release of some 128 hostages that remain in Hamas captivity.
U.S. President Joe Biden laid out a new Israeli proposal for a hostage and cease-fire agreement with Hamas on Friday, describing it as a “road map” to an “enduring cease-fire” in Gaza that would secure the release of some 128 hostages that remain in Hamas captivity.
Speaking from the White House, Biden gave one of the most detailed outlines of a proposed deal to date in an effort to pressure both Hamas and far-right members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to accept the agreement. Negotiators from the United States, Qatar, and Egypt have sought for months, without avail, to strike a deal between Israel and the militant group to secure a pause in fighting and the release of the remaining hostages.
“Everyone who wants peace now must raise their voices and let the leaders know they should take this deal,” Biden said. “Work to make it real, make it lasting, and forge a better future out of the tragic terror attack and war,” he added.
Qatar transmitted the four-and-a-half page proposal to Hamas on Thursday, according to a senior Biden administration official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity under terms set by the White House.
The first phase of the Israeli proposal would see a six week cease-fire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from densely populated areas of Gaza. It would also allow for Palestinian civilians to return to their homes across the enclave, including in the north.
This would be accompanied by a surge in humanitarian aid of at least 600 trucks per day—the number that U.S. officials have assessed is required to adequately tackle the threat of famine—as well as the delivery of hundreds of thousands of temporary shelters, including housing units.
The first stage in the deal would also see the release of a number of Israeli hostages, including women, the elderly, and the wounded in exchange for “hundreds” of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, according to Biden.
During the six week cease-fire, Israel and Hamas would continue to negotiate on phase two of the proposed deal, which would entail a permanent end to the war and the release of all remaining hostages, including male soldiers, and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
Biden acknowledged that there were a number of details that still need to be agreed to in order to move from phase one to phase two, but he noted that under the terms of the deal, the temporary cease-fire would remain in place beyond six weeks—as long as negotiations continued.
“The people of Israel should know, they can make this offer without any further risk to their own security because they’ve devastated Hamas forces over the past eight months,” Biden said. “At this point, Hamas is no longer capable of carrying out another Oct. 7,” he added, describing Israel’s principal war objective as a “righteous” one.
The final stage of the agreement includes the return of the remains of dead hostages and outlines steps for the post-war stabilization and reconstruction of Gaza, where some 370,000 homes have been damaged and almost 80,000 destroyed, according to a United Nations report released at the beginning of May.
The proposal is “extremely close in almost every respect” to the kind of agreement that Hamas indicated it would be willing to accept in previous failed rounds of negotiations, the senior administration official said. Hamas officials have previously insisted that any cease-fire agreements must be permanent.
Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim said in a statement after Biden’s speech that the group viewed the president’s remarks “positively” and indicated that it was willing to work with any proposal that included a “permanent ceasefire” as well as Israel’s military withdrawal from Gaza, provisions on reconstruction and the return of civilians to their homes, and a “prisoner exchange” deal.
In the face of rising international condemnation over the spiraling humanitarian crisis in Gaza and domestic pressure to secure the release of hostages, Netanyahu is likely more inclined than ever to try to strike a deal, said Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East peace negotiator for the U.S. State Department.
“He’s got to demonstrate that something has been achieved,” he said.
Netanyahu’s office issued a statement on Friday following Biden’s announcement, saying that the “Government of Israel is united in its desire to return the hostages as soon as possible and is working to achieve this goal.”
“The Prime Minister authorized the negotiating team to present a proposal to that end, which would also enable Israel to continue the war until all its objectives are achieved, including the destruction of Hamas’ military and governing capabilities,” the statement added.
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