US ratchets up push for Biden's Gaza truce proposal but doubts persist as Israelis feud | | AW
Source: AW
Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (R) addresses the relatives of Israelis being held hostage by Palestinian Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, during a rally in the centre of Jerusalem on June 3, 2024. AFP
A few months before its presidential elections, the US is embarked on a multi-pronged campaign to win acceptance of President Joe Biden's proposal for a Gaza truce deal, which is based a three-phase Israeli blueprint for a ceasefire in the enclave in return for the release of Israeli hostages.
Doubts remain as the Israeli government is divided over the proposal. Hamas has not yet given its final response while the US is pressing Doha and Cairo to ensure the militant group's endorsement. Hamas has only said it viewed the proposal "positively."
On Monday, the US pressed the United Nations Security Council to adopt a resolution backing the proposal.
It circulated a one-page draft text to the 15-member council.
The draft calls on Hamas to accept the deal and "fully and implement its terms without delay and without condition."
"Numerous leaders and governments, including in the region, have endorsed this plan and we call on the Security Council to join them in calling for implementation of this deal without delay and without further conditions," US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in a statement.
In the meanwhile, the fighting showed no sign of easing, with the war that has devastated the coastal territory of 2.4 million people soon to enter its ninth month.
On Monday, Israel's military said its forces had struck "over 50 targets" in the past day, while Gaza hospitals reported at least 19 fatalities in overnight strikes.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told his hardline governing partners Monday the proposal announced by Biden would meet Israel's goal of destroying Hamas, according to local media.
The more extremist members of his cabinet have threatened to bring down the government if Netanyahu agreed to a deal that did not eliminate Hamas.
Netanyahu also told parliament on Monday that Biden gave an outline of the deal but not all the details, and he said there were "gaps."
The leaked quotes from a closed-door parliamentary meeting, which were not immediately confirmed by officials, suggested Israel sees a possibility of entering an initial Gaza truce though it has ruled out ending the war as demanded by Hamas.
Biden had said on May 31 that the first phase of the proposed deal would last for six weeks and include a "full and complete ceasefire," a withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza and the release of some hostages, including women, the elderly and the wounded, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
American hostages would be released at this stage, and remains of hostages who have been killed would be returned to their families. There would be a surge in humanitarian assistance, with 600 trucks a day entering Gaza.
In the second phase, all the rest of the living hostages would be released, including soldiers, while Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza. Biden said if Hamas lives up to its commitments, the temporary ceasefire would become a "cessation of hostilities permanently."
Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) major democracies said in a statement that they "fully endorse and will stand behind the comprehensive" ceasefire and hostage release deal.
"We call on Hamas to accept this deal, that Israel is ready to move forward with, and we urge countries with influence over Hamas to help ensure that it does so," the G7 statement said.
The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Egypt also said on Monday it was important to "deal seriously and positively" with a proposal presented by US President Joe Biden that would lead to a ceasefire in Gaza, Saudi state news agency (SPA) reported.
The foreign ministers met virtually to discuss the proposal alongside US-Qatari-Egyptian mediating efforts for an Israeli hostages-Palestinian prisoners swap deal that would lead to a permanent ceasefire and sufficient aid entry into Gaza, SPA added.