Joe Biden has called the latest proposal given to Hamas, one intended to end the Gaza war with a permanent ceasefire, “Israel’s plan.” This is meant to forestall criticism of the plan by Israel’s supporters, who are being hornswoggled into believing that Israel is entirely responsible for it, is enthusiastic about every aspect of it, and will be delighted if Hamas accepts it. This isn’t true. There is one key aspect of the plan that was not in Israel’s version, and that could potentially keep a ceasefire going indefinitely, even if Hamas makes no moves to satisfy Israel’s conditions. More on this plan, and the dangers for Israel it conceals, can be found here: “Whose Ceasefire Is It Anyway?,” by Daled Amos, Elder of Ziyon, June 3, 2024:
On Friday, President Biden announced a ceasefire plan that would end the fighting in Gaza, release all the hostages, ensure Israel’s security, and create a better Gaza after the war without Hamas….
There are some potential sticking points in just in Phase One alone:
o The release of Hamas hostages would be “in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners” — that alone could break the plan since these would likely be terrorists and Hamas would insist on the release of terrorists with blood on their hands.
o Humanitarian assistance would surge with 600 trucks carrying aid into Gaza every single day — no mention of the need for Hamas to stop interfering with the aid, but then again Biden is not going to point fingers.
o According to Biden, “if the negotiations take longer than six weeks for phase one, the ceasefire will still continue as long as negotiations continue.” On the one hand, this effectively ties Israel’s hands as long as Hamas drags out negotiations, as Biden says, “There are a number of details to negotiate to move from phase one to phase two.”
The Part Biden Leaves Out
The only thing that Biden leaves out is where Hamas gets to declare victory–after all, even though Biden claims at the outset that this proposal “creates a better ‘day after’ in Gaza without Hamas in power,” he never addresses how that works. Instead, Biden claims that continuing the war “will not bring an enduring defeat of Hamas. That will not bring Israel lasting security.”
What will?
We have to work to reform the PA in the West Bank, which is ongoing and to having an interim administration in Gaza that can help with stabilization and pathway forward th [sic]
What kind of “reform” he is talking about is anybody’s guess. Is Hamas going to step aside and relinquish power? Like Hezbollah?
More likely Hamas will continue to have power in Gaza. Back in March, Hamas assassinated the head of the Doghmush clan, one of the most powerful in Gaza, to keep them from vying for power in a reconstructed Gaza.
Hamas is not going anywhere. So the best that Biden can offer in his public statement is to claim that Israel can go forward:
without any further risk to their own security because they’ve devastated Hamas forces over the past eight months. At this point, Hamas no longer is capable of carrying out another October 7th, — one of the Israelis’ main objective in this war and, quite frankly, a righteous one….
So all the pressure is on Israel to allow for a ceasefire that likely keeps Hamas in power, while the terrorists who slaughtered and kidnapped Israelis and have promised to keep doing exactly that, make no promises, no concessions, and get to claim victory as they continue to rule in Gaza.
When you put it like that, it kind of sounds like Biden’s deal after all.
Biden has taken what Israel reluctantly agreed to accept to get back its hostages in Gaza, and calls it “Israel’s plan” to fool the Jewish state’s supporters, even though the Israelis had not acceded to one key part of the plan. To wit: Israel did not agree that Hamas could, merely by dragging out negotiations indefinitely, turn the original six-week ceasefire into one that could last many months, giving Hamas time to regroup, while also leaving it still in possession of the last group of hostages. Biden is trying to overlook Netanyahu’s refusal to accept that part of the plan, hoping that pressure on the Israeli government from hostage families who, understandably, can think only of freeing their relatives, will in the end force him to yield. I don’t think Biden yet understands Netanyahu’s steely determination to crush Hamas, no matter what, even when the whole world appears arrayed against this policy, including too many of his countrymen.
The IDF will continue to smash the last remnants of Hamas in Rafah, and once that task has been accomplished, it will then turn its full attention to dealing with the increasing threat from Hezbollah, whose incessant barrages of rockets and missiles have forced 60,000 Israelis to flee their homes in the north. These internally displaced people have had to remain away for the past eight months. They need to go home, and that can only happen after the IDF has destroyed a large part of Hezbollah’s huge stockpile of weapons — current estimates range between 40,000 and 120,000 rockets and missiles — that make the group a much more potent enemy than Hamas.
The war with Hezbollah will be even difficult than the war in Gaza, but when has Israel not been able, against terrific odds, to prevail over its enemies, as the IDF proved in Israel’s three wars — in 1948, 1967, and 1973 — for its very survival?
somehistory says
there was some idiot (liar) on some news channel….forgive me for not remembering which one…saying “pressure” on Israel has to be increased to force them to agree.
If the “plan” is so great, and Israel thought it up, why would they balk at agreeing to it?
It was obvious from the beginning that the ‘plan’ is not Israel’s. One point in it….the release of ‘palestinian’ prisoners…again…from Israel’s prisons is enough to show this is not Israel’s ‘plan.’
The sinwar ghoul who planned Oct 7, was a prisoner in Israel until there was a ‘deal’ to get hamas to release a hostage, and a bunch of mozlum terrorists were exchanged for the hostage.
And for hamas to remain and be given millions to ‘rebuild’…the only things hamas builds are tunnels they use for terror purposes…is another obvious plus for terror and not for any ‘security’ for Israel.
biden bo supports terror and they have made it obvious to any thinking person.
maria says
Biden “proposal” is anti Israel, stupie and cow towing to the worst not human creature Sinwar.
Sinwar and all his family must be executed
Wellington says
Believe nothing Biden says about anything until independently confirmed. The man is an inveterate liar. His trail of lies is a very long one.
from the other side of town says
Even if it were possible for this Hamas loving plan to bring peace to the area it could not been effected; many of the hostages are dead, and this “plan” cannot bring them back to life to return.
James Lincoln says
Tragically, we have “selected resident” and criminal pathological liar Biden pushing the “Hamas plan” on Israel.
Guaranteed that Israel will not accept this – their very survival is at stake.