He answers questions about Tuesday's standoff between Israel and Hamas. Presidential DebateDemocratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris declared, “This war must end. It must end now. It must end with a ceasefire and we must release the hostages.”
Such an agreement would actually be in the interest of both Israel and Palestine. So why hasn't it been concluded yet? Because the framework of a negotiated agreement would allow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who does not want the war to end, to sabotage it at every step. To make a breakthrough, the framework needs to change.
An end to the war is clearly in the interests of both Israel and Palestine. For the Palestinians, War's devastation in GazaFor the Israelis, it 101 hostages Facilitating the release of those held captive by Hamas, the rehabilitation of communities destroyed on October 7, and an end to the October 7 clashes; Israeli Northern Border Eliminate the imminent threat of regional conflict Big Fire.
Mediators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar spent huge political capital to secure the deal.
The current framework has been under review since December, with relatively minor changes. Staged transactionsThe intention is to ultimately lead to the release of all hostages and an end to the war, with details need to be agreed before each step can begin.
But the framework allows both Netanyahu to refuse to commit up front to an end to the war and Hamas to insist on doing just that. It also allows both sides to claim they have not compromised. Mediators assume that the start of the first phase will prevent a resumption of fighting.
However, Prime Minister Netanyahu repeatedly Actions that disrupt transactionsHe wants the war to continue because ending it would mean the official investigation Reaffirming Israel's responsibility for the October 7 security failures, Criminal trialsand put his governing coalition at risk of collapse.
So he sabotaged the agreement by publicly expressing his opposition to it. Conflicting What he agreed to in the negotiations was to insist on fighting Hamas until it was destroyed (which is unlikely). Assassinate Hamas and Hezbollah leaders are at a critical juncture in negotiations, blocking attempts to offer alternatives to Hamas for governance of Gaza, where Netanyahu has recently insisted Israel occupy the area. Philadelphia Corridor Indefinite It's his latest operation.
Any new agreement must prevent this behavior, and President Biden took bold steps in May. Make public Israel itself had urged both sides to sign its own proposed agreement, but Prime Minister Netanyahu publicly rejected it.
This time, as in previous attempts, the Prime Minister said the agreement (meaning the first stage) would: Only some of the Israeli hostagesBut he also said he would not end the war as a condition for releasing all the hostages in the next step.
Too much time has passed, too many lives have been lost, and there is an urgent need to examine the basic assumptions and reasons for our failure to succeed, and to change our strategy.
The alternative framework should be simple, clear, and unambiguous. Instead of the constructive ambiguity that is common in diplomacy, the framework's language should present both Israelis and Gazans with straightforward options that prevent manipulation. This framework may be more difficult for Prime Minister Netanyahu to agree to, but it would make it clear to his public that it is he who rejects an agreement.
What should this new framework include? The immediate return of all Israeli hostages (living and dead) in exchange for the release of a certain number of Palestinian prisoners, a long-term ceasefire that includes the complete withdrawal of the IDF from the Gaza Strip, and a significant increase in international aid to Gaza.
The new framework should also be announced publicly, rather than privately, as it would be easier to understand and therefore more effective in preventing manipulation and mobilizing public opinion on both sides to reach an agreement.
Ideally, the mediator presents the agreement as a complete package, allowing each party a simple “yes” or “no” choice; “yes, but” is not permitted.
The timeline for this agreement must be accelerated. We cannot afford to waste the many months that are set out in the current agreement. Six more hostages killed The Hamas attacks underscore this urgency: the longer it takes, the more room disruptors have to operate.
Time is running out for the hostages and the people of Gaza.
Boaz Atzili is a professor of international relations in the Department of Foreign Policy and Global Security at the American University School of International Service. Hamas killed his cousin in an attack on October 7, and his body remains in Gaza. His cousin's wife returned home as part of an exchange deal in November.
