• On Friday President Joe Biden announced was an Israeli peace plan for Gaza
• PM Benjamin Netanyahu said no deal was possible unless Hamas was permanently defeated
On Friday night, US President Joe Biden announced what he said was an Israeli peace plan for Gaza including a ceasefire, release of all hostages, an IDF withdrawal, and, implicitly, movement towards a two-state solution. Biden has challenged Hamas to accept the deal.
However Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu immediately said that no deal was possible unless Hamas was permanently defeated, something that is probably impossible.
Ironically, Netanyahu and his Cabinet signed off on the proposal before it was announced by Biden. But Netanyahu's political career has been dedicated to blocking any two-state solution. Opinion polls also show that the vast majority of Israelis also oppose the two-state solution although they think the war in Gaza is unwinnable and want Netanyahu to go.
So the war in Gaza will go on and Netanyahu will remain in power unless Israel accepts the two-state solution. If it does not accept, it will become a pariah state. If it does, Israel will enter into a mutual security agreement with Saudi Arabia and its Arab neighbours that will ensure its long-term safety.
This looks like a no-brainer. Israel needs to be pressured to accept the Biden deal.
Quote of the day: "Peace is not absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means."
Ronald Reagan
The former US president died on June 5, 2004