Washington DC – Israel-Hamas deal to suspend fighting in Gaza and release dozens of captives highlights power of diplomacy and creates opening to end violence, rights advocates say in the USA.
But they stress the truce is not enough, with many vowing to continue pressuring U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration to pursue a long-term ceasefire.
“This is an important break in the fighting. It’s important that these families are reunited,” said Hassan El-Tayyab, legislative director for Middle East policy at the advocacy group Friends Committee on National Legislation.
“But that is not enough. We must continue to build momentum to achieve a permanent ceasefire, the return of all hostages, unhindered access to aid, and a peace solution for Israelis and Palestinians.
The deal will see Hamas release 50 women and children detained in Gaza, and Israel will release 150 Palestinian women and children from its prisons. The exchange will be accompanied by a four-day pause in fighting and an increased delivery of humanitarian aid to the besieged Palestinian territory.
The agreement, which was approved by the Israeli government on Tuesday evening, is expected to come into force on Friday. This will be the first stoppage of fighting since the start of the war.
Biden welcomes deal
Israel has pledged to continue its military campaign after the break. But El-Tayyab stressed that “more war” is not the solution and that there is no military solution to the crisis.
“The question is: Are we going to fall back to where we were over the last six weeks, with indiscriminate bombing, civilians killed and hostages held? he told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“Or will we take a step forward toward more negotiations, an extended truce, to bring everyone home and finally resolve some of the underlying issues that create the cycles of violence, which include the systemic oppression of Palestinians ?
President Biden welcomed the agreement and thanked Qatar and Egypt for helping to negotiate it. He also applauded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement released Wednesday.
“I appreciate the commitment made by Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government to support an extended pause to ensure that this agreement can be fully implemented and to ensure the provision of additional humanitarian assistance to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian families innocent people in Gaza,” Biden said. said. He did not comment on the future of the conflict.
The Biden administration has called for “humanitarian pauses” in the war while strongly rejecting demands for a ceasefire, at least until Israel achieves its stated goal of eliminating Hamas.
A truce or break is a temporary cessation of fighting for an agreed period of time – in this case, four days. A ceasefire is an indefinite end to hostilities that is often accompanied by a negotiated agreement between the warring parties.
Nancy Okail, president of the Center for International Policy, a U.S.-based think tank, called the truce “a step in the right direction.”
She said the pause could be used to provide aid to Palestinians in Gaza, promote a lasting ceasefire and ensure the safety of aid workers, doctors and journalists.
“This would be important not only to achieve the immediate goal of helping to secure the release of the hostages, but also to save lives and stop the bloodshed,” Okail told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“Let the truth come out”
More than 14,500 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its offensive in response to the October 7 Hamas attack that killed 1,200 Israelis.
Hamas has also captured more than 200 people in Israel. Thousands of Palestinians are in Israeli prisons, including hundreds of children, many of whom are held in administrative detention without formal charges.
The scale of the violence in Gaza has prompted many academics and United Nations experts to warn of the risk of genocide.
The Israeli military has forcibly displaced most of the territory’s northern population – more than a million residents – raising concerns about possible ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, especially if they are not allowed to return home.
Okail said the cessation of violence should extend to the West Bank, where more than 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers since October 7.
If fighting resumes, Okail also explained that she would like to see the United States take a strong stance against any war crimes, including the use of collective punishment, civilian hostages and indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas.
“The Biden administration should also draw a clear red line around the use of U.S.-supplied weapons and make clear that there will be consequences if these weapons are not used in accordance with international law,” added Okay.
The White House and Pentagon have repeatedly stated that they will not draw any “red lines” to restrict the Israeli operation in Gaza and the way American weapons are used.
Israel receives $3.8 billion in American aid each year. Biden is seeking more than $14 billion in additional aid for Israel this year.
Leading human rights groups like Amnesty International, however, have accused Israel of imposing apartheid on the Palestinians. But calls for Biden to curb Israeli abuses appear to be going unheeded.
Politico reported Tuesday evening that the Biden administration was concerned that the pause would “allow journalists greater access to Gaza and the opportunity to shed more light on the devastation there and turn public opinion toward Israel.”
In this context, El-Tayyab called for independent observers to assess the carnage in Gaza.
“We must allow the truth to come out. If the truth leads the public to say: this is a war we don’t want to be a part of, then we have to let the stakes fall where they may,” he told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“No spine at all”
Rights activists also expressed fear that further bombing after the truce could target southern Gaza, which has become more densely populated since the start of the war, as families flee bombings and other attacks.
But Biden’s support for Israel is unlikely to waver after this pause.
Juan Cole, a history professor at the University of Michigan, said Biden’s green light for war is one of the main reasons the Israeli campaign “continued for this unspeakably long period” .
“My interpretation of the Netanyahu government is that it is incorrigible, that nothing will stand in its way if it wants to restart the destruction,” Cole told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“And then President Biden came up short when he tried to stand up to Netanyahu. »
Cole noted that Netanyahu was pressured by the captives’ families to accept the deal, despite opposition from his far-right political allies. The Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, for example, described the agreement as “immoral”.
Despite pressure from some right-wing circles for the incessant bombing to continue, Israel appears no closer to destroying Hamas. The Palestinian group continues to battle Israeli troops in northern Gaza, killing dozens of soldiers since the ground invasion began.
Hamas’s top political and military leaders also remain intact.
It is unclear how and if Israel can eliminate Hamas militarily and what would happen after the group if it were destroyed. Hamas has controlled Gaza since 2007.
That’s why many progressive activists in the United States are calling for a political solution to end the violence – one that goes beyond the current agreement.
Usamah Andrabi, communications director for Justice Democrats, a progressive group, called on the United States to end its unconditional support for the Israeli government which “continues to openly communicate to us its plans to annihilate and displace the Palestinian people.” “.
Andrabi said the pause is a temporary but necessary respite from the Israeli government’s “incessant bombing and destruction,” which will allow the release of the captives.
“But we cannot relax our demands for a permanent ceasefire,” Andrabi told Tel Aviv Tribune.
Sandra Tamari, executive director of Adalah Justice Project, an advocacy group, echoed Andrabi’s comments. She said the ruling was simply a “pause from the genocide.”
“How can we accept a break from this kind of violence? We must continue to pressure the US government to call for a complete ceasefire,” Tamari told Tel Aviv Tribune.