The US is optimistic about reaching a ceasefire in Gaza

2024-05-08 07:53:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The United States is optimistic that a cease-fire deal in the Gaza Strip is still possible, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a version of the deal that Hamas said it had accepted.

"A close assessment of the two sides' positions suggests that they should be able to overcome their remaining differences," White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday. "We will do everything we can to support that process and achieve that outcome."

CIA Director William Burns is in Cairo, Mr. Kirby said, engaging on behalf of the United States in negotiations involving Israel, Hamas, Egypt and Qatar. The talks aim to reach a temporary ceasefire accompanied by the release of some Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

But after raising hopes of a deal earlier this week, both sides appear to have hardened their positions.

On Tuesday, Israel launched what it called a "limited operation" in Rafah, the southernmost city of the Gaza Strip, after rejecting a proposed cease-fire deal agreed to by Hamas on Monday. Israel said the plan did not meet its requirements to eliminate the role of Hamas from post-war Gaza.

Hamas responded on Tuesday, warning Israel that there will be no ceasefire if military action continues in Rafah.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the military operation will continue until Hamas is eliminated in Rafah and the entire Gaza Strip, or until the last hostage is released.

The Israeli operation aims to put pressure on Hamas, said Eitan Shamir, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Israel's Bar-Ilan University.

"The objective of the war for Israel is to make sure that Hamas no longer controls anything," Mr. Shamir told VOA. From that point of view, he added, the proposal allows Hamas to have a role in rebuilding Gaza after the war, which for Israel would mean "losing the war."

Basically, there is no alignment of the goals of the warring parties, said former US Middle East negotiator Aaron David Miller, who is now a researcher at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace.

Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, wants to avoid elimination and secure a role for the group after the Gaza conflict, while Mr Netanyahu lacks support within his coalition for halting military operations without ending Hamas' control in Gaza and eliminating its threat to Israel, Mr. Miller told VOA.

In such a conflict where the two warring parties believe their actions are existential, the influence of outside parties is limited, he said.

"You need a Mandela and de Klerk, and you don't have one," he added, referring to Nelson Mandela and FW de Klerk, the leaders who worked together to end apartheid in South Africa.

The importance of reaching a ceasefire for President Biden

The issue also matters to President Joe Biden, who in the Nov. 5 election needs the support of Arab-American voters, Muslims and progressive Democrats who are angered by his support for Israel.

In a speech Tuesday at an event commemorating the 6 million Jews killed during the Holocaust and other victims of Nazism, President Biden denounced the "wild rise" of anti-Semitism in America and the atrocities committed by Hamas.

"My commitment to the security of the Jewish people, the security of Israel and its right to exist as an independent Jewish state is ironclad. That does not change even when we disagree," he said.

The speech was a departure from recent comments in which President Biden linked a pledge to support Israel with warnings to Netanyahu to wage war in accordance with humanitarian law.

His support faces an important test on Wednesday, the deadline for a report mandated by National Security Memorandum 20, which the president issued in February.

The memorandum calls for the State and Defense Departments to evaluate Israeli assurances that American weapons are being used in accordance with the laws of war. His administration will use the report as a basis for further action, which could include restrictions on arms transfers to Israel.

Israel launched a military offensive in the Gaza Strip in response to Hamas terror attacks in Israel on October 7, which killed 1,200 people and took more than 200 hostages. According to the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, as a result of Israel's military campaign, around 35,000 Palestinians have been killed, including Hamas militants./ Voa