This is part 2 of todays look at the Hamas/Israeli conflict….
Here we look at the Biden (and Harris ) Admin coming to realize that they are getting NOWHERE with this thing….
Hamas IS whipsawing Netanyahu , who is pursuing a strategy that is costing Palestian, Israeli and hostage lives…..
And mass destruction….
The most powerful country on the planet seems to be ignored in its efforts to achieve a solution….
This while (probably for political purposes) the American President continues to supply Israel with military help that HAS resulted in taking out Hamas fighters, But also caused HUGE destruction left behind that Hamas IS using against Israel for leverage…
The execution of hostages recently has generated mass Israeli protests , but makes things even worse against getting any ‘deal’…..
One of the main questions raised during a meeting President Biden and Vice President Harris had with their national security team on Monday was whether there is a hostage-release and ceasefire in Gaza deal Hamas would ever agree to, U.S. officials said.
Why it matters: Biden and his top advisers were shocked after Hamas killed six hostages, among them U.S. citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin, and have started torethink the way forward in the negotiations over the deal.
- At the same time, Hamas’ new demand to increase the number of Palestinian prisoners released as part of the deal raised even more concerns and questions among U.S. negotiators about whether an agreement is possible, U.S. officials said.
- “We still think the deal is the only way to save the lives of the hostages and stop the war. But the executions not only increased our sense of urgency but also called into question Hamas’ willingness to do a deal of any kind,” a U.S. official said.
Behind the scenes: U.S. officials said one of the main arguments made in the meeting was that after Hamas murdered the hostages, including an American, the U.S. shouldn’t push for a proposal that gives Hamas additional concessions and instead focus on applying more pressure and accountability measures against Hamas.
- A concern raised in the situation room meeting was that the U.S. could press Israel to reduce Israel Defense Forces deployed along the Egypt-Gaza border or on other issues, only to discover that Hamas doesn’t agree to other parts of the deal. That could mean the new offer would only become the foundation for future negotiations that would be more favorable to Hamas, a U.S. official said….
Sep 5, 2024 – ISW Press
The Biden administration is reportedly reevaluating its approach to ceasefire-hostage negotiations after Hamas killed six hostages, according to unspecified US officials cited by Axios on September 5