WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden on Friday (May 31) laid out what he described as a three-phase Israeli proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza in return for the release of Israeli hostages, saying “it’s time for this war to end”.
The first phase involves a six-week ceasefire when Israeli forces would withdraw from “all populated areas” of Gaza. Some hostages – including the elderly and women – would be freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Palestinian civilians would return and 600 trucks a day would bring humanitarian aid into the devastated enclave.
In the second phase, of indeterminate length, Hamas and Israel would negotiate terms of a permanent end to hostilities, with the ceasefire extending as long as talks continue. The third phase would include a major reconstruction plan for Gaza.
“It’s time for this war to end and for the day after to begin,” said Biden, who is under election-year pressure to stop the Gaza conflict, now in its eighth month.
British Foreign Minister David Cameron echoed his comments. “Let’s seize this moment and bring this conflict to an end,” he said.
Shortly after the announcement, Hamas released a statement saying it “considers positively” an Israeli roadmap towards a ceasefire agreement.
“Hamas considers positively” the contents of Biden’s speech regarding “a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, reconstruction and the exchange of prisoners”, the Palestinian group said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took issue with Biden’s presentation of what was on the table, however, insisting that the transition from one stage to the next in the proposed roadmap was “conditional” and crafted to allow Israel to maintain its war aims.
“The prime minister authorised the negotiating team to present an outline for achieving (the return of hostages), while insisting that the war will not end until all of its goals are achieved, including the return of all our hostages and the elimination of Hamas’s military and governmental capabilities,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
“The exact outline proposed by Israel, including the conditional transition from stage to stage, allows Israel to maintain these principles.”
Separately, the Israeli military said its forces have ended operations in north Gaza’s Jabalia area after days of intense fighting, while probing further into Rafah in south Gaza to target what they say is the last major Hamas redoubt.
The conflict began on Oct 7 when gunmen led by Hamas stormed into southern Israel on motorcycles, paragliders and four-wheel drive vehicles, killing 1200 people and abducting more than 250 according to Israeli tallies.
Israel then invaded the Gaza Strip in what Netanyahu has called an effort to destroy Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that seized control of the area from the Fatah Palestinian faction in a violent struggle in 2007.
Talks mediated by Egypt, Qatar and others to arrange a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have repeatedly stalled, with each side blaming the other for the lack of progress.
MDW Live! News Network 
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden on Friday (May 31) laid out what he described as a three-phase Israeli proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza in return for the release of Israeli hostages, saying “it’s time for this war to end”.
The first phase involves a six-week ceasefire when Israeli forces would withdraw from “all populated areas” of Gaza. Some hostages – including the elderly and women – would be freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Palestinian civilians would return and 600 trucks a day would bring humanitarian aid into the devastated enclave.
In the second phase, of indeterminate length, Hamas and Israel would negotiate terms of a permanent end to hostilities, with the ceasefire extending as long as talks continue. The third phase would include a major reconstruction plan for Gaza.
“It’s time for this war to end and for the day after to begin,” said Biden, who is under election-year pressure to stop the Gaza conflict, now in its eighth month.
British Foreign Minister David Cameron echoed his comments. “Let’s seize this moment and bring this conflict to an end,” he said.
Shortly after the announcement, Hamas released a statement saying it “considers positively” an Israeli roadmap towards a ceasefire agreement.
“Hamas considers positively” the contents of Biden’s speech regarding “a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, reconstruction and the exchange of prisoners”, the Palestinian group said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took issue with Biden’s presentation of what was on the table, however, insisting that the transition from one stage to the next in the proposed roadmap was “conditional” and crafted to allow Israel to maintain its war aims.
“The prime minister authorised the negotiating team to present an outline for achieving (the return of hostages), while insisting that the war will not end until all of its goals are achieved, including the return of all our hostages and the elimination of Hamas’s military and governmental capabilities,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
“The exact outline proposed by Israel, including the conditional transition from stage to stage, allows Israel to maintain these principles.”
Separately, the Israeli military said its forces have ended operations in north Gaza’s Jabalia area after days of intense fighting, while probing further into Rafah in south Gaza to target what they say is the last major Hamas redoubt.
The conflict began on Oct 7 when gunmen led by Hamas stormed into southern Israel on motorcycles, paragliders and four-wheel drive vehicles, killing 1200 people and abducting more than 250 according to Israeli tallies.
Israel then invaded the Gaza Strip in what Netanyahu has called an effort to destroy Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that seized control of the area from the Fatah Palestinian faction in a violent struggle in 2007.
Talks mediated by Egypt, Qatar and others to arrange a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have repeatedly stalled, with each side blaming the other for the lack of progress.
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