Hamas or Israel: Who's blocking the Gaza ceasefire deal?

Following ceasefire and prisoner exchange talks in Doha last week, there have been conflicting reports over whether a new ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas could finally emerge.  

While the US announced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been positive towards the proposal, Israeli sources have called this political posturing.

Hamas, who did not attend last week's talks, has accused Israel, which continues to relentlessly pound the Gaza Strip, of obfuscation and blocking tactics.

While Israel is reportedly supporting the new proposal, Hamas is calling for a return to the 2 July deal, dubbed the Biden framework, which all parties had agreed to until Israel backtracked and made new demands.

What was the Biden framework?

The 2 July deal had stipulated a 3-stage process, the first of which included a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces, with a permanent ceasefire discussed in the second phase alongside a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.

The lifting of the blockade on Gaza would be implemented in the third, and the exchange of Palestinian and Israeli captives would take place during each stage as would the facilitation of humanitarian aid.

What is the current proposal and how does it deviate?

The full details of the current deal, discussed in Doha last week, have not been released.

However, it stipulates a temporary freeze in hostilities during which the exchange of Palestinian and Israeli captives will take place and humanitarian aid will enter Gaza.

Major deviations from the 2 July deal are that Israel will be allowed to keep soldiers in Gaza and maintain control of the Netzarim Corridor (which separates north and south Gaza), the Rafah border crossing, and the Philadelphi Corridor bordering Egypt.

Israel will also be able to interrogate Gazans returning to their homes in the north and has hardened its position on the criteria for the prisoner exchange, among other issues.  

What is Hamas saying about the new deal?

Hamas has accused the US of buying Israel more time for "the genocide to continue" with the current ceasefire proposal, which deviates from the deal accepted by the group in July, as it includes new demands by Israel which are unacceptable to the Palestinian side.

Hamas is insisting on a return to the 2 July ceasefire deal, which Israel had submitted to the mediators and Biden administration in May, and Hamas had agreed to.

Hamas says essentially the US is altering the terms of the previous proposal, after Israel's rejection of key details, in an effort to cast Hamas, rather than Netanyahu, as the main obstacle to striking a deal.

"We will only agree to the implementation of Biden's proposal, which we agreed to a few months ago," Hamas spokesperson Osama Hamdan told Al Jazeera following Blinken's remarks on Monday.

Hamas sources told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, The New Arab's Arabic-language sister edition, that the resistance factions agree that all that is required is a mechanism to implement the July plan, and no negotiations are required.

The sources say Netanyahu has deliberately derailed every deal so far, by backtracking on previously agreed points and expanding Israeli demands.

They explain that a deal which doesn't alleviate the suffering of the people of Gaza is pointless: the deal must include a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces, and the release of the prisoners Hamas demands.

Writer and political analyst Ibrahim Al-Madhoun highlighted the problem with the US mediating – "it is both a partner in the war against the resistance and the Palestinians, and a mediator at the same time".

Hamas politburo member Suhail Al-Hindi said that the July 2 deal only satisfied the "minimum demands of the Palestinian people and the resistance".

He emphasised that Hamas had shown great flexibility around a deal in order to stop the war and the bloodshed – but Israel had interpreted this as a sign of weakness and believed by increasing its military pressure and crimes it will be able to force the resistance to its knees, which he called delusional.

The resistance "is prepared to continue as long as the enemy doesn't recognise the rights of the Palestinian people, and won't raise the white flag. The Palestinian people have never raised the white flag or surrendered," he said.

What is Israel saying?

While Israel has reportedly agreed to the American "bridging proposal", Egyptian and Qatari mediators who attended last week's talks said no progress had been made.

An Israeli source was also quoted by Axios as saying the Cairo talks had been "futile".

Senior Israeli officials also told Axios that the gaps bridged in the latest talks were those between positions held by the US and Israel, not Israel and Hamas.

Moreover, they stated that Netanyahu had endorsed the US proposal knowing that Hamas would reject it.

According to Haaretz, far-right members of Netanyahu's coalition have ensured that two of Israel's key negotiating positions include retaining control of the Philadelphi corridor – which both Egypt and Hamas reject – and ensuring Israel can resume the war after hostages are released – which Hamas rejects.

What is the US saying?

On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Netanyahu after which he told reporters that the Israeli prime minister had confirmed that his country had accepted the "bridging proposal" put forward by the US and "it is now incumbent on Hamas to do the same."

The US is now pushing Hamas to accept the amended deal.

Also on Monday prior to a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Blinken emphasised the urgency of an agreement that could help calm regional tensions.

"This is a decisive moment – probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a ceasefire and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security," he said.

Although the US has insisted that it is working to bring about a ceasefire, it has continued throughout Israel's war on Gaza to supply Israel with massive arms shipments despite widespread and well-documented allegations that Israel is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

This article is based on an article which appeared in our Arabic edition by Diaa al-Kahlout on 20 August 2024 with additional reporting. To read the original article click here.