Middle East talks: final chance of peace?
The US, Qatar and Egypt will meet in Cairo to continue negotiations to prevent further escalation in the Middle East. The peace plan envisages a ceasefire with an exchange of hostages and prisoners, followed by a withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip. Commentators voice more doubts than hope.
Solution still far away
Delfi sees little chance of a ceasefire in the Middle East:
“Washington's anger is also being directed at Netanyahu. According to the BBC, a senior US official accused the Israeli prime minister of making 'maximalist statements'. ... At a meeting with hostages' relatives, the Israeli prime minister allegedly said he had persuaded Antony Blinken that an agreement should lead to Israeli troops remaining in certain areas of Gaza. ... This episode once again sheds light on the complicated relations between Netanyahu and Washington. ... In conclusion: it confirmed once again how far we still have to go to reach the ultimate goal of American dreams - peace in Gaza. A goal which may even no longer exist.”
A dead end
Columnist Antoine Malo is anything but optimistic. He writes in France Inter:
“As we know, Hamas has always put its own survival before that of the Gazan population. As for Netanyahu, he is talking out of both sides of his mouth. He tells the American mediator that he is ready to make concessions in order to obtain a ceasefire and the return of the hostages. And in the same week, he tells the families of those same hostages that he would never give up the Philadelphi Corridor [the security zone along the Egyptian border in the Gaza Strip]. But it is precisely the adherence to this position that is preventing their release. So the war in Gaza will continue.”
Action needed to bolster confidence in international law
Ruhat Sena Akşener, Director of Amnesty International Turkey, calls for concrete steps in T24:
“The ICJ's July 2024 ruling is a historic judgement that affirms the rights of Palestinians who have suffered decades of persecution and systematic human rights violations resulting from Israel's unlawful occupation. However, this judgement alone cannot end the atrocities and destruction in Gaza. ... Unless the leaders of the US, UK, Germany and other EU countries take the necessary steps to fulfil their obligations to prevent genocide, they will seriously undermine the international legal order and confidence in international law.”
Ceasefire as pivot
An agreement could also decrease the threat to Israel from Iran, La Stampa points out:
“Israel knows that every night could bring war from the sky, and that massive coordinated attacks from Iran and Lebanon could breach its missile defences. Tehran says it is prepared to stop if there is a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip. Almost eleven months after the Hamas massacre, the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip has now become the pivot around which the Middle East crisis revolves. ... Negotiations are expected to resume tomorrow in Cairo on the basis of a 'bridging proposal' from the mediators, which US Secretary of State Blinken has described as 'probably the best, maybe the last opportunity' for a ceasefire deal.”
It all comes down to two men
The Economist is sceptical despite opportunities for a face-saving solution:
“A ceasefire in Gaza might provide all parties with an excuse to avoid a regional war. Israel could claim that its main objectives have been met in Gaza, Hamas's rump could boast of survival and Iran and its proxies could claim that their intimidatory tactics have forced Israel to compromise. But the final decision still rests with Messrs Netanyahu and Sinwar. And for both, their personal and political survival comes first.”
US must stop delivering weapons to Israel
Washington must cease playing a double game, fumes Večer:
“Peace initiatives and a symbolic recognition of Palestine will not stop the murdering in Gaza. The only person that can end this madness is the president of the United States. Not with peace brokering attempts but by slamming his fist on the table and ending the flow of weapons to Israel. Last week, just a few days before the latest attempt to broker peace, the US signed off on the sale of 20 million US dollars worth of weapons to Israel. Are human lives not more valuable than war profiteering?”
More pressure on Netanyahu is needed
The former Israel correspondent Jan van der Putten asks in De Standaard what needs to happen to facilitate a peaceful solution:
“There are ways out of this bloodied impasse. An Israeli movement of civil disobedience can gain momentum. The government can collapse, there is certainly no shortage of explosives. A political opponent can emerge and force an election. ... And there are options from abroad too, if Chinese and Russian support for Iran remains limited and the West stops being so half-hearted. For example Joe Biden. ... Netanyahu is insulting him the whole time. Yet Biden never thinks of attaching human rights conditions to America's deliveries of weapons. ”
Diametrically opposed interests
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung asks what the breaking news of six dead hostages could mean for the negotiations:
“Criticism from many of the families of the hostages who are demanding a deal with Hamas remains loud and clear. But the interests of Hamas and those of the Israeli government could hardly be more opposed. And Netanyahu is known for achieving his political goals through maximum rigidity – the PM has now fought his way back from a low in the polls to dominate Israeli politics. ... A vague hope remains that this doggedness could enable him to push through a deal against the extremists in his cabinet – but the question remains as to whether Hamas wants a ceasefire at all.”