Israel approves latest U.S. ceasefire proposal, but Netanyahu has not given up war strategy

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Israel has made Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Reluctantly accepting the latest truce proposal with Hamas. However, this change in Israel’s position raises questions. So far, Netanyahu has been blocking all these agreements at the last minute because his roadmap involves eliminating Hamas rather than talking to these Palestinian militias.

Blinken made it clear after arriving in Israel on Monday. This is the last chance to rescue the hostages. Hamas To achieve this goal, the US position is that Tel Aviv stops the genocide in Gaza.

At stake is not just the war, which has killed 40,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured nearly 92,000. Iran threatens to attack Israel One of Hamas’ political leaders was assassinated in Tehran. Ismail Haniyehand said his final decision would depend on a possible ceasefire in Gaza.

“This is a decisive moment, this may be the best opportunity, perhaps the last opportunity, to bring the hostages home and achieve Cease-fire Put everyone on a path to lasting peace and security,” Blinken said in Tel Aviv.

Israeli forces have killed around 40,000 Palestinians since October 7

Prime Minister Netanyahu responded clearly: he remains firmly committed to a final deal, but no matter what happens in the negotiations, he will not yield to “Israel’s security needs.”

Your Secretary of Defense, Yoav GalantTelling Blinken his forces will remain in Gaza until Hamas is destroyed. Some of the comments suggested Israel had acquiesced to the truce and raised doubts about the seriousness of Netanyahu’s commitment.

However, as a gesture of goodwill, Netanyahu promised Blinken that he would send a negotiating team to Cairo this weekend to resolve the most tense issues, of which there are many.

Israel agrees to ceasefire but continues bombing Gaza

Although recent negotiations have been ongoing since last week, first in Doha and now in Cairo, to achieve an emergency ceasefire and release the prisoners, the Israeli army has remained brutal in recent days, Gaza Strip under heavy shelling.

The new wave of attacks fits into Netanyahu’s three-pronged strategy: achieving total victory through war, eliminating Hamas, and transforming talks On paper and to meet the demands of American partners, who cry in vain for restraint in the slaughter of Palestinians, while they are forced to defend Israel from any external enemy.

exist Explosion In recent days, Israeli planes and artillery have swept through homes and refugee camps, struck a group of citizens at an internet distribution point, killing dozens, and for the first time launched a massive offensive into the heart of Gaza City, Deir al-Balah, one of the few remaining towns in the Strip.

Nearly 1.9 million Gazans, out of a total population of 2.3 million, had to abandon their homes and had to constantly move between refugee camps and so-called euphemistic camps. Israel In the “humanitarian zones”, there was no running water or minimal medical care, and disease killed a large number of displaced people.

Netanyahu’s intentions tainted the negotiations

Despite Netanyahu’s lack of willingness to stop the war so far, the umpteenth round of ceasefire talks began in Doha last week amid pressure over the conflict with Iran.

Only one truce in the war so far has succeeded. That was last November and lasted only a week; some prisoners were released and then the slaughter resumed in a more severe manner. hostage For Netanyahu, they are useful flags to plant on his road map to war, to fuel solidarity in hatred of the Palestinians.

Mediators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar, as well as Israeli representatives, have been taking part in these latest talks. Hamas has refused to participate. has accepted the proposal made by US President Joe Biden a few months agowhich was later boycotted by Netanyahu himself.

The proposal calls for a six-week ceasefire, the release of most of the 100 Israeli hostages still held by Hamas (many of whom were feared killed in the bombing), the release of Palestinian prisoners and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from major population centers. GazaThis is despite Palestinian militias demanding a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

The new Doha talks show that some of these conditions are maintained, but Israel has no intention of withdrawing from Gaza and also wants to control key areas such as the Nezarim crossing (connecting the northern and southern Gaza Strip), the Rafah border crossing with Egypt) and the Philadelphia corridor between Gaza and Egyptian territory.

If Iran attacks Israel, it will have to revisit the pattern of its last attack on the Jewish state

Now, the mediators have heard some of Israel’s demands and have, in fact, assured Tel Aviv that it will continue to make the final decision on the Palestinian territories and that it will withdraw from Gaza if there is a prompt later.

Hamas certainly would not be the favored party if this deal were to be signed. Neither would the Palestinians, but at least the killing would stop for a few weeks. If they don’t accept it, they’ll become the bad guys in the movie.

Ultimately, war with Iran will determine decision on Gaza

All of this is happening against the backdrop of a possible regional war as Hamas’ ally Iran threatens to attack Israel as punishment for the assassination of Palestinian leaders and Israel. HezbollahShiite guerrillas allied with Tehran, occupied parts of Lebanon.

The United States has not only expressed its solidarity with Israel, but has also strengthened its military presence in the eastern Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf to “deter” any “provocation” by Iran.

Under the dark clouds of war, Anthony Blinken For Israel, it is of vital importance that this is the ninth crisis since the crisis began on October 7. Time is running out, with the presidential elections in November approaching, and the last thing the United States is interested in is obviously a war that would set the Middle East on fire and add to the fuel supply crisis, which has already had serious consequences for the international economy. Ukraine conflict.

Blinken issues direct warning to Iran and Hezbollah

Blinken addressed Iran and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia during his stay in Israel and directly threatened them: “The United States is taking steps to deploy forces here to deter any attack and, if necessary, defend (Israel) from any attack.”

Iran has pledged to retaliate against Israel for the July 31 assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and on Monday expressed support for ongoing ceasefire talks.

Once the war in Gaza or Lebanon ends, Netanyahu’s political future will be doomed

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser KananiAppreciating Gaza’s “sincere efforts to achieve a ceasefire,” he said, referring to the three mediating countries, but noted that Israel was responsible for previous failures.

Kanani highlighted Israel’s attacks on the Palestinian people during the negotiations. He also criticized Israel for proposing new conditions that would make Hamas less likely to accept the truce terms that Netanyahu wants to impose.

“The ball is in America’s court. Zionist regime“We believe that the United States has no right to seek a ceasefire because it has always been a supporter of the Zionist regime,” he said.

Iran wants to end Israeli impunity

Kanani did not close the door to armed confrontation and stressed Iran’s right to “punish Israeli aggressors” for the murder of Haniyeh in Tehran, just as he attended the inauguration of Iran’s new president. Masoud PezeshkianHe insisted that the “Israeli regime” must not be allowed to act with impunity and become a “threat to international security.”

If Iran attacks Israel, it will have to revisit the pattern of its last attack on the Jewish state, which was more of a piece of media theater than an act of war.

This happened in April, when Israeli forces bombed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, killing several prominent Iranian soldiers. A few days later, Tehran launched a Missiles and drones rain down against Israel. Most of them were shot down by American and British aircraft flying to aid their allies in the Middle East. Israel immediately attacked various Iranian infrastructure but no significant damage was caused.

Israel needs another war to cover up Gaza crimes

But things are different now. Israel has effectively ended the Hamas threat in Gaza and is carrying out a veritable ethnic cleansing of the Strip. It needs to divert international attention from the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have been forced from their homes and what might happen to them.

In addition, it wants to end the threat to its territory posed by Hezbollah’s pressure on Lebanon. The country’s war against Hezbollah and the Iranians is very beneficial to Netanyahu because it can cover up the failure to release the hostages.