Are Hamas and Israel willing to accept the truce plan in Gaza announced by Joe Biden? These are their positions

“The ‘Israeli’ side needs to explicitly and clearly announce its commitment to reaching an agreement that leads to a comprehensive ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from Gaza, (and) the unrestricted entry of aid to shelter and assist the displaced,” he said on Saturday night to the Qatari channel Al Jazeera Osama Hamdan, senior Hamas official.

The Islamist group limited itself to saying at first that it “positively” welcomed the roadmap presented by Biden, after reiterating that before any agreement could be reached it required a permanent ceasefire and the total withdrawal of Israeli forces.

But Hamdan criticized that Biden’s formulation, which alludes to the total end of the war after a three-week first phase and the release of hostages, is based on ideas and a “general framework” lacking in details.
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(Also read: Israel: far-right ministers threaten to overthrow Netanyahu’s government if it accepts a truce with Hamas)

According to Biden’s announcement, in the first six-week phase there would be a complete ceasefire, Israeli troops would be withdrawn from all populated areas of the Strip and several hostages would be released, including women, the elderly and the wounded, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

But during those six weeks, Israel and Hamas will have to negotiate the details of the second phase that would include “the permanent end of hostilities”, the release of the rest of the hostages, including soldiers, and the withdrawal of the Israeli Army from the Strip; which according to the US president will require intense dialogue.

“There is no initiative. President Biden talked about ideas and general ideas do not mean that an agreement can be reached. They are a general framework that contains many details that have already been discussed over the last four months“Hamdan added.
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​​(You can read: Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu insists that there will be no permanent ceasefire until Hamas is eliminated)

Furthermore, the Hamas leader recalled that they already accepted a truce proposal on May 6 presented by the mediators, which according to the United States is almost identical to the current one, and that it was Israel that rejected it, considering its demands “unacceptable.” and began the invasion of Rafah.

In this regard, Egypt, Qatar and the United States urged Israel and Hamas this Saturday to finalize the agreement on the table “with the principles indicated by US President Joe Biden”indicated the joint statement shared by the Qatari Foreign Ministry on its X account (formerly Twitter).

This Sunday Ophir Falk, Netanyahu’s main foreign policy advisor, confirmed in an interview with the Sunday Times that Biden’s proposal is flawed and “there are many details to be worked out,” but that Israel
has committed because it “desperately wants the hostages to be freed, all of them”.

For his part, in a statement from his Office on the social network of Hamas, the release of the hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer represents a “threat” to Israel.
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(Also: One by one: we explain how the three phases of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that the United States presented would work)

“Israel will continue to insist that these conditions be met before a permanent ceasefire is established. The idea that Israel will agree to a permanent ceasefire before these conditions are met is impossible,” the message in X concludes.

Both the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, and the head of the opposition, the centrist Yair Lapid, showed this Sunday their support for the Government to accept this agreement.

“The interview with the prime minister’s political advisor also shows that Israel has already announced that it accepts the agreement. If he retracts now, it would be a death sentence for those kidnapped and a crisis of confidence with the Americans and the mediating countries.“Lapid warned this Sunday in your X account.

Herzog, for his part, recalled this morning in a conference at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem that “according to Jewish tradition, there is no greater commandment than to redeem captives and hostages, especially when it comes to Israeli citizens whom the State of Israel does not could defend.”
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(You can read: The United States announces that Israel offered a new agreement for a ceasefire in Gaza: what is known so far?)

The Minister of Defense of Israel, Yoav Gallant, announced this Sunday in a meeting with troops deployed in the Gaza Strip that Israel is “evaluating an alternative government to Hamas” in the Palestinian enclave and will not allow the Islamists to remain in charge after the war.

“We will isolate areas (in Gaza), we will expel Hamas members from these areas and we will bring in other forces that will allow the formation of an alternative government,” Gallant said without giving further details, but referring to said leadership as a “threatening alternative.” to the Islamist organization.

The two ministers from radical right-wing parties in the Israeli coalition government, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, threatened last night to overthrow the Executive if a truce was reached with Hamas, since Hamas will not be “destroyed.” And, in contrast, the platform that represents the relatives of the Israeli hostages in Gaza demanded that the Israeli authorities approve the truce plan announced by Biden.

While negotiations continue, at least 60 Palestinians died in the Strip in the last 24 hours, exceeding the figure of 36,400 – most of them women and children.after another night of heavy Israeli shelling and artillery attacks in almost 8 months of conflict.