Written by Michael Thervil
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
With the Biden Administration announcing today that both Israel and Hamas is “on the brink of a breakthrough” because of the ceasefire/peace talks that were held in Doha, Cairo today, will ultimately prove to be nothing but just that – talks. If you really take a look at the terms of the ceasefire deal, not only will you have to consider the terms from the perspective of both sides, but you have to consider how each side considers their image and reputation from a cultural aspect. This is something that both the Qatar and Israel mediators have failed to realize and accomplish.
Even though Qatar is a part of West Asia, it should be known that Qatar is largely backed by America and the Collective West. This is despite Qatar's role as a mediator in the region. When it comes to Israel and its mediators, it can be said that they will only seek to further the wants and desires of Israel and no other country. What is even more important to understand is that unless leaders from Hamas are present at the table during the ceasefire talks – there are no ceasefire talks. That means it's only a third party speaking on behalf of one of the main parties involved.
While Hamas is seeking to establish a peaceful solution to stop the war in the long term, Israel is seeking to end the war with the total destruction of Hamas indefinitely. This is truly a conflict of interest that has not been resolved. What we mean by this is that even though Hamas is willing to turn over hostages to Israel, Israel has failed to fulfill its mission to “rid the world of Hamas”. From the perspective of Hamas, they question Israel's ability to uphold its end of the ceasefire deal without attempting to fulfill its mission of ridding the world of Hamas, despite Hamas giving away its most powerful bargaining chips – the hostages. In short, can Israel be trusted? The answer is no based upon Israel’s past actions.
On top of that, it’s a well-known fact that Israel has projected the idea that it must exert control over key borders such as the Philadelphia Corridor as well as what they deem to be Hamas weapons smuggling routes. Then there is the issue of who or if the Palestinian people will be allowed to govern themselves. Given the fact that Israel wants to exert control over key areas to include Palestine, the question is willing Israel allow the Palestinian people to govern themselves free of Israeli intervention.
The answer to that question is no. The reason why it's no is because Israel wants to search each and every Palestinian for weapons that comes back to Palestine. It's hard to imagine that Israel will relinquish control “just like that” without wanting to exert additional control measures for its own security interest. These questions come on the heels of American President Joe Biden making the following statement to the Press:
“The Palestinian people deserve peace and the right to determine their own futures. Israel deserves peace and real security. And the hostages and their families deserve to be reunited.”
Then there's the issue of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's mounting legal issues centered around his corruption practices. Is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ready to face the Israeli legal system? Many observers of West Asian politics think that it's in his best interest to keep the war going to avoid criminal prosecution. Another issue with the negotiated deal is that Hamas wants Israel to release Palestinian prisoners.
As far as Israel is concerned – that’s almost a no-go because they fear that some of the Palestinian hostages that will be released may have ties to Hamas and/or Hezbollah and may seek retribution. It’s been said that it’s to be expected that innocent Palestinians should harbor resentment and anger towards Israel and that they are well within their right to hold animosity towards Israel.
We at VEDA Communications predict that these ceasefire/peace talks will result in nothing but wasted time and even more of an increase in miscalculation between the two sides. The best thing that should be done is allow both Hamas and Isreal to fight to the end without the interference of mediators. Anything less than that is doing nothing but delaying the inevitable.
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