(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . I/P Ceasefire Talks - Latest News - Mediators Applying Pressure [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-06-06 THE BAD NEWS: There has been no real progress in the ceasefire talks or getting either side to accept the Israeli Biden’s Peace Plan. THE GOOD NEWS: They’re still talking. Here is the latest from The Straits Times: CAIRO - Talks involving Qatari, Egyptian and U.S. mediators aimed at reaching a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza war were still underway on Thursday but had shown no sign of a breakthrough, two Egyptian security sources said. The talks began on Wednesday, when CIA director William Burns met senior officials from Qatar and Egypt in Doha to discuss a proposal that U.S. President Joe Biden publicly endorsed last week. Biden described the three-phase plan as an Israeli initiative. The talks in Qatar were aimed at finding a formula that could reassure Hamas over its demand for guarantees that the deal would deliver a complete cessation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip and a full Israeli withdrawal from the territory, the Egyptian sources said. Hamas expressed concerns about some provisions of the proposal, especially the second phase, the sources added. According to a summary of the plan published by the White House, the second phase includes a permanent end to hostilities as well as the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters on Thursday that while the group welcomed what he called "Biden's ideas", the U.S. draft resolution at the U.N. Security Council was dependent on an Israeli ceasefire proposal Hamas had seen and had rejected. "The (U.S.) document...has no mention of ending the aggression or the withdrawal," he said. "The Israeli documents speak of open-ended negotiation with no deadline, and it speaks of a stage during which the occupation regains its hostages and resumes the war. We had told the mediators that such a paper wasn't acceptable to us," said Abu Zuhri. He said Hamas was committed to its May 5 proposal which was was based on an end to the fighting and an Israeli withdrawal, a swap deal, and a lifting of the blockade of the enclave. Before delving into the above, here is a reminder of what’s in the 3 phase ceasefire proposal articulated by Biden 5 days ago, per NPR: The first phase is six weeks: a full and complete cease-fire and withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza, as well as the release of a number of hostages — including American hostages — in exchange for the release of “hundreds” of Palestinian prisoners. The remains of hostages who have been killed would be returned to their families as well. Citizens in Gaza could return home to any part of the coastal enclave and more aid — as much as 600 trucks a day — would be moved in to stave off what experts warn could be a looming famine. During that phase, he said, Israel and Hamas would negotiate a Phase 2: “a permanent end of hostilities.” As long as negotiations continue, the ceasefire would hold, potentially lasting longer than the initial 6 weeks. Phase 2 would also see the release of all remaining living hostages. Phase 3 would be the start of a “major reconstruction plan for Gaza,” and any final remains of hostages would be returned to their families. Although the US Officials continue to insist that the above is an “Israeli” proposal, it is still unclear if it is 100% an Israeli proposal or maybe 90% with some omissions by the US to make it more palatable to HAMAS. Regardless whose proposal it is, it appears the general sticking point is that the HAMAS Leaders want assurances that release of all the hostages will lead to a permanent ceasefire and an IDF withdrawal from Gaza. While the Netanyahu government will not commit to an end to the war once all its hostages are returned. IMO, the leaders on both sides care more about their own welfare than the welfare of their people. On the one side, the Leaders of HAMAS seem to care more about their own lives and avoiding any personal punishment for the October 7 attack on Israel that they ordered, than the lives of the Palestinians in Gaza. On the other side, Netanyahu cares more about staying out of jail and the Hard Liners in the Israeli government care more about killing every last HAMAS fighter regardless of how many innocent Palestinians they kill or injure, than they do about the lives of the Israeli hostages. Don’t you wish that we could put the Leaders of HAMAS and Netanyahu and the Israeli Hard Liners, in a steel cage death match to fight it out, and leave the rest of the innocent Israeli and Palestinian people out of it? I Do! [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/6/6/2245172/-I-P-Ceasefire-Talks-Latest-News-Mediators-Applying-Pressure?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/