Netanyahu Rejects Hamas Proposal to End Gaza War

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Facts

  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected a proposal to end the war in Gaza submitted by Hamas — who offered to release all Israeli hostages in exchange for leaving Hamas intact, withdrawing Israeli forces from Gaza, and releasing Palestinian prisoners. Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed that Hamas must be destroyed.1
  • Netanyahu said such a deal would amount to capitulation and mean soldiers had 'fallen in vain.' Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told the families of the hostages that Israeli operations in Khan Younis will expand, with reports on Monday that Israeli forces had advanced into the west of Khan Younis and closed in on the city's two main hospitals.2
  • A day after Netanyahu's comments, relatives of Israelis held hostage in Gaza stormed an Israeli parliamentary committee session Monday to demand that lawmakers do more to try to free their loved ones. Protests were also held over the weekend in Tel Aviv to show disapproval of Netanyahu and call for new elections.3
  • Ahead of several Monday meetings between the EU's 27 foreign ministers and their Israeli and Palestinian counterparts, the EU sent to its member countries a discussion paper regarding potential solutions to the conflict. One suggestion was a 'preparatory peace conference' involving the EU, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the Arab League, the US, and the UN.4
  • US, British, and European officials are reportedly pressuring Israel to allow more humanitarian aid for Palestinians to enter Gaza via the southern Israeli port of Ashdod. As reported Sunday, aid would reach Ashdod from Cyprus and then be transported by land to the Kerem Shalom crossing, which is already open for aid deliveries to Gaza. The US on Friday said Israel would allow flour to enter through Ashdod.5
  • Gaza's health ministry reports that the conflict has killed over 25K people in the Gaza Strip, the majority of whom were women and children. The war has also created a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in the strip. The official Israeli death toll on Oct. 7 stands at around 1.2K people (and there are still over 100 hostages being held in the Gaza Strip).6

Sources: 1VOA, 2BBC News, 3Reuters, 4Al Jazeera, 5The Times of Israel and 6Associated Press.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Vox. Israelis and Palestinians must make peace via a two-state solution. Though it may seem that it has never been as difficult to make peace, moderates must rise above the populist extremism of Hamas and the Israeli political right so the land can be shared. Both Israeli and Palestinian national aspirations are valid projects that deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. The two-state solution may not be the most equitable or desirable for either side, but it's the most achievable outcome.
  • Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by The Jerusalem Post. Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on Israel was the final nail in the coffin for the establishment of a Palestinian state. Since Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, the enclave has essentially existed as a terrorist-run proto-state run by Hamas. Given the Palestinian Authority's inefficacy, Israel has no partners for peace, and the last 20 years in Gaza prove this. A violent, terrorist-run Palestinian state would be an existential threat to Israel's security.
  • Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Mother Jones. Israel killed the two-state solution. There can't be a Palestinian state after nearly 75 years of Israeli policies effectively atomizing and dividing the Palestinian political scene and physical landscape via a system of apartheid and occupation. The only solution is to accept reality — Israel is an apartheid state that practices sovereignty over the region, and this apartheid must be dismantled so that all people residing in the land can live free as equals.

Predictions