Mediators from Israel, Qatar and Egypt are said to have hammered out the framework for a new ceasefire in Gaza over the weekend. A source with insight tells the Reuters news agency that Hamas has seen a draft proposal. According to the information, the proposal means that the terrorist group releases 40 Israeli hostages and that Israel releases 400 Palestinian prisoners in return.
– My national security adviser tells me we are close. We are close. We’re not done yet. My hope is that we will have a truce next Monday, said US President Joe Biden in connection with a visit to New York on Monday evening.
The statement was in response to a question about when he thought a ceasefire might begin. He got the question after the recording of a talk show with Seth Meyers, which will be broadcast on American television.
“Difficult for Netanyahu to defy Biden”
According to Israeli media, the proposal is supported by the country’s war cabinet, which has opposed the government several times before. But Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has already dismissed the deal and said he will vote against it, according to the Times of Israel.
– Netanyahu is trying to keep his coalition government together. There are forces in the government that really don’t want to prioritize the hostages and an agreement but go even harder in Gaza, but then there are those who are ambivalent and lean more towards the war cabinet, says Schierenbeck to TT.
Middle East expert Anders Persson believes, however, that there are many indications that the plan may become a reality.
– The fact that Biden very clearly said that this is going on means that he has climbed a rather tall tree and I think it will be difficult for Netanyahu to openly defy him, says Anders Persson to SVT.