Many people strongly criticized the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, especially US officials. This is because he makes strong statements that are not helpful in finalizing the ceasefire agreement and ending the Gaza conflict. People strongly opposed the Netanyahu idea after getting knowledge about the complete tour of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the Middle East. In this trip, Blinken made many conversations with different leaders. He also met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and Netanyahu himself.
The main aim of this meeting is to meet with leaders and promote the plan known as the “bridging proposal.” The agenda of this proposal is to address the different issues in the Middle East and also move closer towards the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.
The Blinken proposal strongly shows favoritism to the ceasefire deal. It also provides a detailed plan for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
According to Blinken, the plan outlines the specific schedule and locations for the troop withdrawals. However, Blinken has not confirmed whether this plan involves a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces. The goal of the proposal is to create a clear path towards ending the conflict and establishing a ceasefire between the two sides.
The new proposal does not give a good response for either side involved. Netanyahu wants to keep different crucial areas in power. It includes the Philadelphi Corridor, which lies between Gaza and Egypt. The current negotiations are greatly impacted due to these important areas. Furthermore, Hamas is also not happy with the new proposal. According to Hamas, this plan deviates from the original outline presented by President Biden back in May. They are clearly rejecting the extra demands of Netanyahu. And also said it is unacceptable to fulfill these demands.
One of the major drawbacks in this proposal is that it does not include the permanent ceasefire. Also there is no involvement in the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. So, the proposal clearly shows the lack of promises such as a three-phase plan. This plan was proposed by Joe Biden and Hamas agreed with it. But at that time, Israel had rejected it.
According to Hugh Lovatt, an expert on the Israel-Palestine conflict from the European Council for Foreign Relations, “It seems, from my view, the US is accepting the latest Israeli conditions, but trying to water them down to some extent.” He further added, “This [proposal] is basically a bridge between the US and Israel and not Israel and Hamas.”
One of the US officials, a Blinken travelmate on a Middle east tour, was very critical of Netanyahu’s stance. They argue that strong refusing statements of Netanyahu can never be helpful to end the Gaza conflict. These statements also act as a great resistance in the way of progress of the ceasefire plan. So, Natanyahu’s stance actually causes many problems in negotiating at various levels. It also makes it difficult to achieve resolution.
Hamas has rejected the proposed deal because it agrees to several of Israel’s key demands and mainly focuses on maintaining Israeli control over Gaza. Israel’s demands include keeping its long-standing illegal occupation and blockade of Gaza, as well as controlling the Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah Crossing. This means that residents of Gaza will continue to face severe travel and movement restrictions. These restrictions particularly affect patients who need medical care, students who need to travel for education, and the wounded who require treatment. The ongoing limitations create significant challenges for daily life in Gaza.
There are many reasons behind the rejection of this deal. First it allows Israel to keep control of the Netzarim Corridor, which divides Gaza into two parts. This division also separates the people of Northern Gaza from South Gaza. The corrode also has many significance because it contains one and only cancer hospital in Gaza. But the Israeli military is using it as a base. This simply means that one-third of the Gaza population will still be occupied. It also allows thousands of people to return to their homes.
Even though there were hopes for a ceasefire, the deal doesn’t ensure that humanitarian aid will get through, nor does it address the rebuilding of critical infrastructure like hospitals, schools, and homes. These issues are pushed to a second phase of negotiations, which may never happen, especially since Netanyahu wants to resume bombings after the first phase of the deal.
