Gaza peace: Nice declarations of intent, but no firm commitments

At least outwardly, everyone seemed to agree: the war in Gaza must end. The UN Security Council also agreed on this in a resolution calling on the warring parties to implement US President Joe Biden’s ceasefire plan.

Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu promptly declared to the USA “once again” that he was ready to accept the peace plan. A few hours later, the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas also said it was ready to accept the UN resolution for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and to negotiate further details. It is up to the USA to ensure that Israel adheres to the resolution, said Hamas representative Sami Abu Suhri. The government in Washington is facing a real test of forcing Israel to end the war immediately and thus implement the UN resolution.

But despite the nice declarations of intent, the implementation of the peace plan remains uncertain. Israel backtracked once again yesterday and stressed that Prime Minister Netanyahu had not yet given firm public approval of the US plan. On the contrary: “Israel will not end the war until all of its war goals have been achieved,” was the message from Israeli government circles.

Hardened attitude

Hamas’s promise also turned out to be mere lip service, which threatened to fail at any time because of the details. The attitude towards Israel remained hardened. The draft deal presented by Biden at the end of May initially provides for a complete and unrestricted ceasefire of six weeks. During this period, a certain group of hostages would be released. In return, Palestinians imprisoned in Israel would be released.

In the next phase, the fighting would then cease permanently and all hostages would be released. In a final phase, according to the draft, the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip would begin.