Leaked Gaza Hostage Deal Would Provide 60-Day Ceasefire at Most
When asked why it isn’t supporting a ceasefire in the Gaza war, the Biden administration has repeatedly said that such a policy would imperil its negotiations for a hostage deal with Hamas, which the White House says would lead to a more "durable” ceasefire.
The framework for the hostage deal has now leaked, and the ceasefire it would usher in is capped at a maximum of 60 days, or one day for each hostage released by Hamas. The best case scenario being a two-month long ceasefire doesn’t seem very “durable” to me, though presumably the Biden administration would say that this is just “phase one” of a more comprehensive deal, as the framework suggests.
The deal would also allow for the return of some Palestinians to the north of the Gaza strip, though terms and conditions apply, namely “conditions that will be defined during the detailed negotiations,” according to the framework.
There’s no guarantee in the framework that Israel (or Hamas) wouldn’t simply resume hostilities after the 60 days. But anything that might forestall Israel’s imminent ground invasion of Rafah and the humanitarian crisis that would entail is at least a temporary solution.
Just not a “durable” one.
Hey all, will answer any questions here.
The entire U.S. blob is 100% untrustable. If Hamas agrees to this, they are either nuts or an under the table deal for Israel to start funding them again is part of it. Such a thing would be Israel/USA level cynical, but it was going on for a long time before this, and Netenyahu is capable of anything, as is Biden. If the U.S. supplies the $$, Bibi would have at least some plausible deniability. However, unless the funds were given to a Muslim government in advance that Hamas trusts, it would still be nuts to agree to this. If I had to guess, this is just BS leaked by the White House to see if it will play in Peoria.