Biden’s New Plan to End Gaza War Would Leave Hamas Intact

Joe Biden still does not understand, or does not care to understand, how important it is for Israel to destroy Hamas, so that it cannot regroup and carry out attacks such as those on October 7 “again and again.” More on the Biden plan to end the Gaza war, that he announced on May 30, can be found here: “Biden Outlines New Gaza ‘Ceasefire’ Plan That Would Seemingly Leave Hamas Intact,” by Corey Walker, Algemeiner, May 31, 2024:

US President Joe Biden on Friday [May 31] outlined the details of a new plan to conclude the Israel-Hamas war that would seemingly leave the Palestinian terrorist group in control of the Gaza Strip.

Delivering a speech from the White House, Biden gave updates on his administration’s efforts to end the war in Gaza, laying out a proposed multi-phase plan that, in his words, would result in a “permanent cessation of hostilities” between the Jewish state and Hamas, which launched the war by invading southern Israel, murdering 1,200 people, and abducting over 250 hostages on Oct. 7.

A “permanent cessation of hostilities” right now, before Israel has destroyed the four intact battalions of Hamas that remain in Rafah, would mean Hamas would be able to present itself as the “victor” in the Gaza war simply by the fact of its still standing, despite all that the IDF threw at it, and to regroup, in order to launch attacks on Israel “again and again.”

Biden explained that his administration has engaged in “intensive diplomacy” with the governments of Israel, Qatar, Egypt, and other unspecified Middle Eastern countries to hammer out the details of a potential ceasefire plan.

“Israel has offered a comprehensive new proposal. It’s a roadmap to an enduring ceasefire and the release of all hostages. This proposal has been transmitted by Qatar to Hamas,” Biden said.

But Biden misstates the Israeli proposal, which does not include an “enduring” — i.e. permanent — “ceasefire,” but one limited in time to six weeks. Nor does it call for the IDF to withdraw from “all populated areas of Gaza,” which includes almost all of the Strip.

Israel’s proposal consists of three phases, Biden said. The first phase would last six weeks and include a “full and complete ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas and the “withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza.” The first phase would also include the “release of a number of hostages” in exchange for “the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.”

The remains of killed hostages would also be returned to Israeli families, and Palestinian civilians would “return to their homes” within all areas of Gaza. Biden added that humanitarian assistance into the Gaza Strip “would surge, with 600 trucks carrying aid into Gaza every single day.” In addition, the president promised that “hundreds of thousands of temporary shelters” would be erected for Gazan refugees.

During this six-week period, Israel and Hamas would negotiate the “necessary arrangements” in order to transition to the second phase and a “permanent end” to the war, Biden explained. The negotiations during this transitional period would include measures to ensure Israel’s security. As long as negotiations continue, the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas would remain, Biden said….

All Hamas has to do, then, to prevent Israel from renewing its attacks is to keep the “negotiations” going on indefinitely. Hamas should have no difficulty dragging them on, in order to keep buying time, during which it will attempt to infiltrate its forces back into the cities in northern Gaza that the IDF had “cleared” earlier.

Israel will not agree to remove all of its forces from Gaza, no matter what Hamas promises. That will only happen once Hamas has been completely dismantled, and an alternative government put in place in the Strip.

Biden assured that Israel can make this offer to Hamas without an unnecessary risk to their security “because they’ve devastated Hamas forces over the past eight months.” He asserted that Israel’s military operations have rendered Hamas “no longer capable of carrying out another Oct. 7.” Israel would be allowed to continue with its war effort if Hamas breaks the terms of the agreement, Biden stipulated.

The IDF does not think, despite Biden’s claim, that it has sufficiently “devastated Hamas.” In addition to the four intact battalions in Rafah, there are several thousand Hamas operatives who remain in northern Gaza, now organized in much smaller groups, who have been returning to places the IDF had previously cleared, requiring the IDF to return yet again to them.

The Israeli government is not prepared to subscribe to the plan that Biden insists came from Israel in the first place. It will not agree to a permanent ceasefire, nor to.a withdrawal of IDF forces from all urban areas, much less to a total withdrawal.

Biden also stated that the end of the Israel-Hamas war could pave the way for a “normalization agreement” between the Jewish state and Saudi Arabia, adding that such an arrangement would allow Israel and the broader region to effectively combat any threats from Iran.

But the promise of “normalization” of ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia still depends, according to Riyadh, on Israel accepting a Palestinian state, and Netanyahu has said he will never agree to this. Most of the Israeli public concurs. How does Biden intend to persuade Israelis to accept such a condition?

Of course, Hamas welcomes Joe Biden’s plan — the one he misleadingly ascribes to Israel — which would prevent the final dismantlement in Rafah of the terror group’s remaining battalions. And the withdrawal of IDF forces from all urban areas in Gaza would allow Hamas operatives in the cities to stave off being completely crushed.

So that’s where things stand as of early June. There is Biden’s plan, that he claims originated with Israel, and there is Netanyahu’s rejection a day later of key elements of that plan, including a “permanent ceasefire” and an IDF withdrawal from all urban areas in Gaza. Whose view will prevail?