{"id":31453,"date":"2024-02-02T13:12:36","date_gmt":"2024-02-02T21:12:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=31453"},"modified":"2024-02-02T13:12:37","modified_gmt":"2024-02-02T21:12:37","slug":"where-the-sides-stand-on-securing-a-cease-fire-in-gaza-and-freeing-the-hostages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/02\/02\/where-the-sides-stand-on-securing-a-cease-fire-in-gaza-and-freeing-the-hostages\/","title":{"rendered":"Where the Sides Stand on Securing a Cease-Fire in Gaza and Freeing the Hostages"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Joseph Krauss\/Associated Press<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"WherePeople attend a demonstration demanding the release of the hostages taken by Hamas militants into the Gaza Strip during the Oct. 7th attack, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024. ( (photo: Ariel Schalit\/AP)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

01 february 24<\/strong> (RSN.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. and Mideast mediators appeared optimistic in recent days that they were closing in on a deal for a two-month cease-fire in Gaza and the release of over 100 hostages held by Hamas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the militant group\u2019s two main demands \u2014 that Israel withdraw its forces from Gaza and release thousands of Palestinian prisoners \u2014 indicating that the gap between the two sides remains wide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The war began with Hamas\u2019 Oct. 7 assault into Israel,<\/a> in which militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250. Nearly half the hostages were released during a weeklong November cease-fire in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel\u2019s offensive has killed over 26,700 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza,<\/a> whose count does not separate civilians from combatants. Some 85% of Gaza\u2019s population of 2.3 million have fled their homes and the U.N. says a quarter of the population is starving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has also sent ripples across the region, with Iran-backed groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen attacking Israeli and U.S. targets in support of the Palestinians, drawing reprisals in a spiraling tit-for-tat<\/a> that could set off a regional conflagration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a look at where each of the parties stand on ending the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ISRAEL\u2019S NETANYAHU SEEKS \u2018TOTAL VICTORY\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to continue the war until Israel destroys Hamas\u2019 military and governing capacity and returns all the hostages, two increasingly elusive goals that many Israelis fear are mutually exclusive.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at a religious pre-military academy in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, he said \u201cwe will not withdraw the Israeli military from the Gaza Strip and we will not release thousands of terrorists.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That would seem to rule out any agreement with Hamas, but it could also be posturing aimed at strengthening Israel\u2019s hand in the ongoing indirect talks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Netanyahu is under mounting pressure from families of the hostages<\/a> and the wider public to reach a deal with Hamas to bring the captives home. Many Israelis fear time is running out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, his governing coalition \u2014 dominated by ultranationalist hard-liners who oppose a deal \u2014 could fall apart if he is perceived as being too soft on Hamas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel\u2019s military has only successfully rescued one hostage, and Hamas says several have been killed in airstrikes or during failed rescue operations. In December, Israeli forces mistakenly killed three hostages<\/a> who had escaped and were waving a white flag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HAMAS WANTS THE WAR TO END<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hamas has refused to release more hostages until Israel ends its offensive and withdraws from Gaza. It wants a broader agreement that would include a long-term truce and reconstruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group\u2019s top political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, said Tuesday that its priority is the \u201cfull withdrawal\u201d of Israeli forces from Gaza. He said any agreement should also lead to reconstruction, the lifting of an Israeli-Egyptian blockade on the territory, and the release of \u201call our heroic prisoners.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hamas is widely believed to be holding the hostages in heavily guarded tunnels deep underground,<\/a> using them as human shields for its top leaders and bargaining chips for the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners.<\/a> These include high-profile militants involved in attacks that killed Israeli civilians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Hamas releases the hostages without ending the war, it would leave itself exposed to an even greater Israeli onslaught once any cease-fire expires. Failing to secure a major prisoner exchange would expose it to intense criticism from Palestinians after the unprecedented death and destruction<\/a> in the tiny coastal enclave prompted by its Oct. 7 attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, if Hamas secures a long-term cease-fire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the release of thousands of prisoners, it would be seen as the war\u2019s victor, at least by its own supporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MEDIATORS SEEK MIDDLE GROUND<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United States, which has provided crucial military aid<\/a> for the offensive, largely supports Israel\u2019s goals in the war. It wants all hostages released and assurances that Hamas can never again carry out an attack like the one on Oct. 7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the Biden administration also has a strong interest in winding down a war that has caused regional instability and divided Democratic voters<\/a> in an election year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arab countries, including key mediators Egypt and Qatar, have been calling for a cease-fire since the earliest days of the war, fearing broader instability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. and Arab mediators appear to be seeking a middle ground in which hostages would be released in stages over a two-month period in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, more desperately needed humanitarian aid would be allowed into Gaza, and Israeli forces would partially withdraw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A two-month respite could buy time for negotiating a larger agreement to address the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. and Arab diplomats have spoken of a potential grand bargain<\/a> in which Saudi Arabia would recognize Israel<\/a> and join other Arab countries and the Western-backed Palestinian Authority in helping to rebuild and govern Gaza, in return for a credible path to the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Netanyahu, whose government is opposed to Palestinian statehood, and Hamas, which refuses to recognize Israel, have ruled that out as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Joseph Krauss\/Associated Press People attend a demonstration demanding the release of the hostages taken by Hamas militants into the Gaza Strip during the Oct. 7th attack, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024. ( (photo: Ariel Schalit\/AP) 01 february 24 (RSN.org) U.S. and Mideast mediators appeared optimistic in recent… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1224],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31453"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31453"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31454,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31453\/revisions\/31454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}