By : Najla M. Shahwan
Jordan Daily – “Political assassinations & continued targeting of civilians in Gaza while talks continue leads us to ask, how can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?” Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani wrote on X after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh Hamas political chief.
“Peace needs serious partners & a global stance against the disregard for human life.”
Haniyeh and his bodyguard were killed in a guest house in Tehran on July 31. The killing of Hamas leader has set back and may have struck a death knell for US hopes of reaching an agreement in the already failing negotiations on a cease-fire and hostage-release deal to end the Gaza war.
Haniyeh played a key role in talks for a potential ceasefire in Gaza, liaising with mediators Qatar, which has led months of negotiations alongside Egypt and the US.
There is little doubt that Israel was behind the audacious assassination of Hamas’ hostage-deal negotiator and political head Haniyeh.However, the latest round of cease-fire talks, which was held in Rome , achieved little as Israel added new demands to the proposal announced May 31 by President Biden.
When asked on August 1 about how the assassination had affected the talks, President Biden said it had “not helped.”
Besides ,he said that he had a “very direct” conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We had the basis for a cease-fire. He should move on it and should move on it now,” the president added.
Israeli military chiefs believe that Benjamin Netanyahu is not interested in clinching a lasting ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip, a top official said, as the premier accused the chiefs of being too “soft” on Palestinians.
There is a gaping “chasm” between Netanyahu and the Israel ’s top military officials over a ceasefire in Gaza and reaching a hostage deal to bring back dozens of Israeli captives from the Palestinian enclave, Haaretz newspaper reported on August 2, citing an unnamed senior member of Israel’s negotiating team with Hamas. “There is a chasm between us and the prime minister. Everyone is convinced that Israel’s new additions will blow up the talks, and, conversely, that we have the security tools to handle a deal that doesn’t include them,” the top official added, commenting on a tense meeting between Netanyahu and military leaders on July 31.
Besides, according to Haaretz, the team has offered Netanyahu to draft a better proposal than the one on the table.
The current proposal includes changes the prime minister had dictated, chiefly among them his insistence on military control of Gaza’s Netzarim Corridor and along the Egyptian border.
Netanyahu rejected the idea, saying he prefers to negotiate the current deal but “on his own terms”, the daily added.
On the other hand, a report by Israel’s Channel 12, said that a heated exchange had occurred between the embattled premier and Israel ’s military chiefs in a meeting on July 31.
“It feels like the prime minister doesn’t want the framework that’s on the table,” said Shin Bet head Ronen Bar during the meeting.
Moreover , according to Channel 12, the head of the Missing and Captive Soldiers Division in the IDF, Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, also told Netanyahu: “You know that all the parameters you’ve added [to the framework] will not be accepted and there will be no deal.”
On his part, Mossad chief David Barnea, as quoted by Channel 12, stressed to the Israeli prime minister during the meeting that “There is a deal on the table. If we delay, we could miss the opportunity. We have to take it.”
Earlier, Hamas denounced Netanyahu for preventing a ceasefire in Gaza by adding new conditions and demands to a US truce proposal, following the latest round of talks in Rome.
“It is clear from what the mediators conveyed that Netanyahu has returned to his strategy of procrastination, stalling, and evading reaching an agreement by setting new conditions and demands,” Hamas said .
After months of barbaric hostilities, Israel has failed to achieve its objectives of “destroying Hamas” and finding Israeli captives.
According to many Israeli officials, what has been stopping Netanyahu from agreeing to a ceasefire is his political survival and the assassination of Haniyeh will build a victory narrative that will pacify the far right on which he relies to stay in power. Netanyahu knows that a hostage deal will collapse his government and end his reign as Prime Minister.
It would also likely mean the expedition of his ongoing corruption trial, which surely will land him in jail.
Besides, it has been clear that Netanyahu has not been too concerned with the hostages’ fate or the public’s trust and showed no sign of bending to the majority of Israelis who want him to resign and who have no confidence in Israel’s ability to win the war in Gaza.
The decision for the killing of Haniyeh has been precisely the result of Netanyahu’s concern about his weakness at home and abroad, seeing it a way to rally the Israeli public and Haniyeh’s killing appears designed to elicit an Iranian response, one that could easily spiral into a larger war that draws in the U.S. and could escalate to a regional conflagration.
This moment might be the closest the world has been to a regional war in the Middle East since October 7 and what has been a devastating conflict between Israel and Hamas for 10 months now could expand and pull the US in even more.
The spiking tensions, even if they’re calmed, complicate hopes for a cease-fire. “Pulling back from the brink, repeatedly, is not making war any less likely.
It makes it harder to construct a diplomatic pathway away from the looming threat of all-out conflict,” noted Jeremy Bowen , the BBC’s international editor.
“The only credible first step for lowering the deadly temperature in the Middle East is a ceasefire in Gaza.” He added.
That is hard to ask for now than it was a few days ago but there will be no use to ask for it afterwards as the whole region will be on fire.
Today the International community , especially the US can still stop the region from descending into chaos, but only if it is willing to put firm and public red lines in front of Netanyahu.
Najla M. Shahwan is Palestinian author, researcher and freelance journalist.She is also Chairwoman of the Palestinian Center for Children’s Literature ( PCCL ) , founder of Jana Woman Cultural Magazine and recipient of two prizes from the Palestinian Union of Writers.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the Jordan Daily.
