The ceasefire offer Israel put forward yesterday wouldn’t have been possible three months ago, a senior Biden administration official said following President Joe Biden’s announcement of Israel’s proposed three-phased plan to end the war.
The official said he thinks the reason why Israel is able to make this offer now is because of some of the success they’ve had in degrading Hamas’s military capacity.
“This has been a difficult painstaking negotiation. And at the heart of it, of course, is the core demand to see hostages coming home,” the senior official said. “And with hostages coming home, there is now really a roadmap to the end of the crisis.”
The proposal is a detailed, four and a half page agreement, according to the official.
“We give credit to the Israelis for putting this officer down,” the official said. “The President made very clear that the onus here is on Hamas. I would say that what is on the table now is extremely close in almost every respect to the deal that Hamas said they would take not too long ago.”
Israel has been involved in this negotiation process, according to the official who noted that more progress has been made in the last few weeks than to date.
More details to be ironed out
The official said the White House is realistic about what still needs to be worked out, such as the negotiation for the ratio of a potential prisoner exchange.
The official expressed confidence that the work could be done during the first phase of the ceasefire.
Work will also have to be done to reform the PA in the West Bank and having an interim administration in Gaza that can help with stabilization and a pathway forward, according to the senior official.
“It remains a concern of ours, as you’ve heard expressed from [Jake Sullivan] and others, that without a military strategy that is connected to a political and diplomatic strategy, the military gains often can be fleeting, as we’ve seen in the past,” the official said. “So that day-after process is critically important.”
The official said the US will act as a kind of guarantor together with Egypt and Qatar ensuring that the Israelis live up to their commitments as they’ve agreed as well as making sure Hamas lives up to their commitments.
“This will require an awful lot of work over the coming months, years. Should we be fortunate enough to close this deal, that very much is our commitment,” the official said. “And the Egyptians and Qataris are very much on the same page with the paramount, immediate interest to get a ceasefire, to begin this important rehabilitation work and to bring the hostages home.”
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