On Wednesday, Israel announced it had received an updated response from Hamas on the ceasefire proposal Biden announced.
Negotiations had been at a deadlock for weeks since the proposal, which Biden claimed was Israel’s idea, was announced. Once Israel returned from the Sabbath and was able to respond to the announcement, they promptly declared it was a non-starter because it called for the end of the war. Hamas, of course, claims they won’t negotiate anything less. It was puzzling to see Israel have to “agree” to the terms of “their” proposal and then decline them.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to speak with Biden over the phone on Thursday, July 4th, regarding the new developments. Some Israeli officials say significant progress has been made, but there is still a long road ahead. Of course, if we have learned anything in the last six months of negotiating deals…
