Qatari and Egyptian mediators have proposed a new formula to end the war in Gaza. According to the official, it envisages a truce lasting between five and seven years, the release of all Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, a formal end to the war, and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Hamas has signalled its readiness to hand over governance of Gaza to any Palestinian entity agreed upon "at the national and regional level". The official said this could be the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA) or a newly formed administrative body. Netanyahu has ruled out any role for the PA in the future governance of Gaza While it is still too early to assess the likelihood of success, the source described the current mediation effort as serious and said Hamas had shown "unprecedented flexibility". https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62xnqlj11lo
Not a chance Netanyahu will accept this as the 5-7 years proposal (a very sensible one imo) is not just aimed at allowing a manageable and gradual transition of power and governance in Gaza which won't require 2 million people to move to Egypt, but is also hedging lots of bets that Netanyahu will finally be gone by then and Israel will have a fresh political outlook.
Yep, there's no ceasefire he's going to accept. The proposal for Hamas to return all of the hostages and disarm is something he knows would never be accepted and reminds me of the days where Wenger spent all summer chasing £80m strikers only to say 'we tired' when it was clear it was never going to happen. When are the next elections in Israel, and is there any chance of stopping Netanyahu from forming another coalition ?
Next election is pencilled in for 27th Oct 2026 so there's plenty of time for Netanyahu to ruin more promising political careers ahead of that. Elections could of course be forced sooner if his current coalition collapses, which is far more likely to happen if the country isn't in a state of war as then things like the economy, judiciary, religious draft rise to the surface and force divisions that are otherwise overlooked due to the state of emergency and terrible optics of quitting a government at that time. In terms of opposition, the merger of Meretz and Labour into the Democrats under new leadership was a very important one - perhaps the most significant step the left/center-left has taken toward resuscitation after decades in the doldrums. They hold 4 seats now but are projected to secure 10 in the next ge. The real key to ousting Netanyahu is to split the right-wing vote. If as rumours suggest Naftali Bennett is returning to politics for the next election, he will take a large voter share from Likud and further right-wing parties' supporter bases. Whilst Bennett is in some ways more right-wing than Netanyahu, he has shown one significant difference throughout his career: He is willing to work with others and is willing to compromise if it is in Israel's best interests. Bennett would likely attract Lapid, Gantz and possibly even Lieberman and Saar to join a coalition which, if my math is correct, would be enough to oust Netanyahu but only with a wafer-thin majority.
I remember when Naftali Bennet was in last time, albeit briefly. He comes across as a hard line zealot at times, but like you say I think he's more of a pragmatist that Netanyahu, who is all about protecting his own power base. Netanyahu of course faces his own criminal charges once he's out of power, so he'd doing everything to hold onto it, which includes appeasing the hard right. Which is being played out at the expense of Palestinians in Gaza right now. I didn't realise Meretz and Labour had merged, that's a smart move from the more liberal parts of Isreali politics and could hold quite a lot of weight if there's another hung parliament and coalition govt.
Netanyahu or not Zionists will still be Isrealis they don’t like peace or they would have found it by now try to find peace as an Isreali will get you a bullet in the head Yacob won’t rest till he gets Abdullah’s house Allah will deal with them when the time is right
@PISKIE you need to raise your game. Spurly's making a late-season charge for that top spot. Don't bottle it now.
‘Hamas has shown unprecedented flexibility’ I wonder if they’d have been so willing had Israel not been so relentless this time? Of course not, so now it makes sense as to why Israel were so brutal. It worked.
To be fair, they said they were willing to cede governance of Gaza when the first ceasefire was agreed The one that Israel broke Anyway, no reason for Netanyahu not to get on with it this time
Can't really argue with that though at the moment can you Israel has shown no indication that it has any interest in peace.
I agree and hopefully it gets done. This still wouldn’t have been possible if Israel hadn’t have gone as far as they did during this war with Hamas. Now, they’ve got Hamas ready to stop fighting and to take a back seat in the future. Job done by Netty
Hamas would argue that they've brought Israel to the negotiating table and if it means a unified Palestinian governed territory in the West Bank and Gaza, then it's a step closer to a Palestinian state. Which perversely is something neither Hamas or Netanyahu have ever wanted. Which is why they are actually secretly buddies, and why Netanyahu has allowed funding to flow to Hamas. But, if both sides need to claim a 'win' and it gets peace sorted, then let the little boys who think they are big men have their victory and let everybody else get on with their lives in peace.
Why doesn’t each religions god get together with all of the other gods and broker some sort of peace deal? Gods are peaceful lovely people I’m lead to believe so that really shouldn’t be a problem for the guys up there.
... until the next iteration of 'Hamas' emerges ... ...you can defeat an armed militia - kill it's leaders ... but you can't kill an ideology... .. the only real and lasting solution to the Israel / Palestine issue is a diplomatic one ... and needs to include acceptance of the other's right to exist on both sides... and protected sovereignty ... the two state solution... ...without such possibilities the devastation of Gaza will simply result in even more Palestinian men (than Hamas could mobilize) willing to fight and die for an independent Palestine...
not much of an argument tho is it? We’ve all seen the destruction of their homeland. They’ve done no such thing
I wonder if they’d have been so willing and desperate to get a peace deal done if Israel hadn’t have gone as far as they did? I believe we all know the true answer to that.
You don’t agree on a draw when you’re eight points up with the judges going into the twelfth round. Ooh Qatar are leading the negotiations. ****ing Qatar. **** off.
Israel would never have come to the negotiating table if Hamas didn't hold some cards with the hostages. Taking hostages, killing those Israelis and the subsequent massacre in Gaza has been despicable But like I say, if people need to have their 'win' if it means a lasting peace can be achieved, then let them have it.
