Israel has put a “broad agreement” on the negotiating table. This was announced by US President Joe Biden who outlined a “roadmap for a lasting ceasefire and the release of all hostages” and made it known that the proposal has already been transmitted to Hamas, via Qatar. “It is time for the war to end and for a new phase to begin”, is Biden’s hope, which he invited the Palestinian group to accept.
The new proposal put forward by Israel, President Biden explained, consists of three phases. The first would last “six weeks”, with a “full and complete ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza”. Furthermore, there would be the release of “a certain number of hostages, including women, elderly and wounded” and the return of the bodies of the deceased hostages, in exchange for the “release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners”.
The first phase would allow the “safe and effective” distribution of aid to the population. During the six weeks of phase one, “Israel and Hamas would negotiate the agreements necessary to reach phase two, which would be a permanent end to hostilities.” The proposal, Biden added, indicates that if the negotiations were to take more than six weeks, “the ceasefire would continue for the entire duration of the negotiations”, supported with the help of the USA, Egypt and Qatar. At the end of this second phase, there would be the release of “all living hostages, including male soldiers”.
The temporary ceasefire would become, according to the Israeli proposal, “a permanent cessation of hostilities”. Finally, phase three would begin, with a “major plan for the reconstruction of Gaza” and the return to the families of the remains of all the other hostages killed. In confirming the sending of this proposal, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu specified that «the war will not end until all the objectives set are achieved, including the return of all our abductees and the elimination of the military and the Hamas government.”
Hamas judges the proposal “positively”. The organisation, we read in a statement released in the media, «judges positively what is contained in today’s speech by American President Joe Biden», specifying «his appeal for a permanent ceasefire, for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, to the reconstruction of Gaza and the exchange of prisoners.” Hamas «affirms its position of readiness to address in a positive and constructive way any proposal based on a permanent ceasefire, complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, reconstruction, the return of displaced persons to all their places of residence and the completion of a severe prison trial exchange agreement if the occupation declares its explicit commitment to this effect”, it reads. The organization adds that it sees the development of negotiations and the US commitment to ending the war in Gaza “as the result of the legendary steadfastness of our fighting people and their courageous resistance.”
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UN on Biden turning point, “We have been pushing for a solution for some time”
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres welcomed the opening message launched by Joe Biden on the crisis in the Middle East, in which he proposed a three-point plan for an immediate ceasefire. “For months – said spokesperson Stephane Dujarric – the secretary general has been pushing for a ceasefire, full and unrestricted humanitarian access, and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held in Gaza”. “The secretary general – he added – strongly hopes that this will lead to an agreement between the parties for a lasting peace”
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