The Biden administration is cautiously optimistic that a deal between Hamas and Israel could be close after a "bridging proposal" designed to fill in the gaps of disagreement between the two sides was offered in Qatar.
Hamas was off pouting somewhere and didn't attend the negotiations but was represented by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Jassim Al Thani. Also present were the intelligence chiefs for the U.S., Egypt, and Israel.
"We are closer than we’ve ever been,” Joe Biden said. He also said that the talks proceeded so well that the chance of a deal was “much, much closer than it was three days ago."
It's been the pattern that at just about this point in the negotiations, Hamas pulls a "Lucy and the football trick" and pulls the ball away just as Charlie Brown is kicking it. Hamas has already said that the deal on the table favors Israel and is accusing Jerusalem of "adding new conditions in order to stall the agreement," according to CNN.
The dynamics of these negotiations have changed dramatically. Hamas feels little pressure to close a deal. They're getting clobbered in the field but in the war of public opinion, they're definitely doing a lot better. How long they can take the shellacking that the IDF is dishing out remains to be seen.
"I don't want to jinx anything. But as my grandfather said — by the grace of God and with a lot of luck, we might have something," Biden said. "But we're not there yet."
Meanwhile, the silver lining to this delay is that Iran is holding off in its retaliation against Israel for the killing in Tehran of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh until a deal is reached between Israel and Hamas. If no deal is reached, the "truce" is off and Iran strikes. Israel will strike back and the danger of escalation would rear its head.
Senior officials from the US, Qatar and Egypt will meet again in Cairo before the end of next week, “with the aim to “conclude the deal under the terms put forward” Friday, the joint statement said.
"The talks were “serious and constructive,” the statement added, though it did not elaborate on what points of agreement were achieved over the past week.
Israel on Friday said it welcomed the mediators’ efforts but did not explicitly endorse the latest proposal on the table.
“Israel appreciates the efforts of the US and the mediators to dissuade Hamas from its refusal to a hostage release deal,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement.
Israel stands close to war with Iran, Hezbollah, and the whole "axis of resistance" as Iran calls it which includes the Houthi rebels in Yemen, the Islamic Jihad terrorist group, other Islamic terror groups as well as Hamas. Out of all of them, only Hamas wants a war between Israel and Iran. They believe a strong blow by Iran might finish Netanyahu as prime minister or at least weaken his negotiating position and force a quick conclusion to the war.
Until then, Hamas is going to fight. And as they have been doing so often since the war began, Hamas is downplaying Joe Biden's grandiose proclamations that "peace is at hand."
Senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad lashed out at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for 'undermining' the current hostage and ceasefire negotiations in a Friday interview with the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen.
Hamad told Al-Mayadeen that Netanyahu was "practicing deception" and claimed that he was "setting new conditions and undermining what was previously agreed upon."
Hamad pushed the idea that Netanyahu was not interested in a deal and was actively preventing the conclusion of negotiations.
"Netanyahu undermined the agreement from the ground up," he said.
It's clear to me that Joe Biden is not being told the truth about the negotiations. The idea of putting a "brave face" on talks is one thing. But being off the mark in characterizing them by a thousand miles is quite another.
Perhaps Biden should allow Harris to give updates on peace talks between Israel and Hamas. She couldn't do any worse.
