Israel insists it will continue its warfare until Hamas is eliminated, Hamas has accepted the ceasefire proposal. Yet Antony Blinken falsely claims it is Hamas that stands in the way of an agreement.
"There is a worldwide consensus that a ceasefire in Gaza is imperative, with only the most vicious of genocidal racists, largely on the rapidly expanding far right, disagreeing." - a boldly unsubstantiated assertion, since it's all about the details and Hamas's insistence that the IDF withdraw from Gaza and allow Hamas to re-assert its control over the enclave. Plus were is Sinwar's response?
You could be right. Polls show that most of Israel's Jewish-Zionist citizens are as determined as is their PM to continue the ethnic cleansing of Gaza and the West Bank until all Palestinians are dead or expelled. So a ceasefire is not what they want. Hamas is likely far more willing to stop the fighting, not being as fanatical as Zionists.
". Hamas is likely far more willing to stop the fighting" This view is contradicted by reports (in the Wall Street Journal) that's Yahyah Sinwar believes Hamas has the upper hand and that the huge casualties among Gaza residents is an acceptable price to pay. Hamas is "not as fanatical as Zionists/" Really?
You provide no link to those WSJ 'reports'. Given that Hamas has historically shown great willingness to accept proposals for peace agreements - which were then betrayed by Zionist Israel - it is reasonable to believe that the apartheid state is more fanatical.
The military leader of Hamas has said he believes he has gained the upper hand over Israel and that the spiralling civilian death toll in Gaza would work in the militant group’s favor, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, citing leaked messages the newspaper said it had seen.
“We have the Israelis right where we want them,” Yahya Sinwar told other Hamas leaders recently, according to one of the messages, the WSJ reported Monday. In another, Sinwar is said to have described civilian deaths as “necessary sacrifices” while citing past independence-related conflicts in countries like Algeria.
The WSJ said it reviewed dozens of messages sent to ceasefire negotiators from Sinwar, who has not been seen in public since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel left 1,200 people dead and another 250 taken hostage. The ensuing Israeli assault aimed at eliminating the group has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians in the strip, according to health authorities there.
Sinwar’s whereabouts are unknown but he is assumed to be hiding deep underground in Hamas’ labyrinthine tunnel system below Gaza. The messages reported by the WSJ offer a rare glimpse into the mind of the man steering Hamas’ thinking on the war and suggest an uncompromising determination to continue fighting, regardless of the human cost.
In another exchange that took place as Israel set a deadline in February to enter Rafah before the Muslim month of Ramadan, the WSJ reported that Sinwar urged Hamas’ political leaders not to make concessions and instead push for a permanent end to the war, adding that high civilian casualties would ramp up global pressure on Israel to halt the conflict.
“Israel’s journey in Rafah won’t be a walk in the park,” Sinwar allegedly said in a message to the Hamas political leadership.
CNN has not seen the leaked messages viewed by the WSJ and is not able to confirm the authenticity of the communications.
Commenting on the WSJ report, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on X: “Sinwar profits off the deaths of Gazan civilians, calling them “necessary sacrifices” in order to urge international pressure on Israel’s efforts to eliminate his terrorist organization.”
Mediators are waiting for a Hamas response to an Israeli proposal presented by US President Joe Biden last month, which aims to release the hostages in Gaza and implement a lasting ceasefire there.
‘Waiting on’ Sinwar
Sinwar’s alleged comments emerged as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was on another tour through the Middle East to push all sides to agree to the latest proposal. Speaking from Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Blinken made it clear that the US believes Sinwar is the ultimate decision-maker.
Some stretching of credulity required to accept those comments as true, given the WSJ's long history as a propaganda mouthpiece for American imperialist leadership. Until there's something more independent, nothing to see there.
Here what Gershon Baskin, who has lots of experience dealing with Hamas as an intermediary, says about ceasefire prospects:
It really annoys me to see all the news channels in Israel and to hear from all of the so-called experts (mostly ex-security people) what Hamas wants. None of those experts, of course, speak to Hamas, but they know for sure what Hamas wants. What is clear to me, both from conversations with Hamas people and from what they publish on their own behalf, is that there will be no deal to release all the Israeli hostages without the end of the war and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a huge release of Palestinian prisoners - including all the murderers of the Israelis in prison (the so-called prisoners with blood on their hands). This is the price for the return of all of the Israeli hostages. I have been saying this from the first month of the war because Hamas says has been saying it from the first month of the war. From my experience with Hamas (18 years of discussions and negotiations) they say what they mean and mean what they say. In my opinion (and I have been saying also this since the beginning of the war) Israel should conduct a secret direct channel with Hamas in order to reach a deal and minimize dangers and risks as much as possible. I know that about a month ago Hamas was ready for a secret direct channel but Israel was not ready. It is true that the main problem is not communication, the main problem is the huge gap between the parties: Hamas is not ready for a deal without ending the war and the Netanyahu government is not ready for a deal that ends the war. As I have also been saying since the beginning of the war – dealing with Hamas can wait, the hostages cannot wait. Gershon Baskin. 12-6-2024
This looks like the standard Israel/Israel supporter tactic to blame Hamas for everything Israel does.
"There is a worldwide consensus that a ceasefire in Gaza is imperative, with only the most vicious of genocidal racists, largely on the rapidly expanding far right, disagreeing." - a boldly unsubstantiated assertion, since it's all about the details and Hamas's insistence that the IDF withdraw from Gaza and allow Hamas to re-assert its control over the enclave. Plus were is Sinwar's response?
You could be right. Polls show that most of Israel's Jewish-Zionist citizens are as determined as is their PM to continue the ethnic cleansing of Gaza and the West Bank until all Palestinians are dead or expelled. So a ceasefire is not what they want. Hamas is likely far more willing to stop the fighting, not being as fanatical as Zionists.
". Hamas is likely far more willing to stop the fighting" This view is contradicted by reports (in the Wall Street Journal) that's Yahyah Sinwar believes Hamas has the upper hand and that the huge casualties among Gaza residents is an acceptable price to pay. Hamas is "not as fanatical as Zionists/" Really?
You provide no link to those WSJ 'reports'. Given that Hamas has historically shown great willingness to accept proposals for peace agreements - which were then betrayed by Zionist Israel - it is reasonable to believe that the apartheid state is more fanatical.
CNN
—
The military leader of Hamas has said he believes he has gained the upper hand over Israel and that the spiralling civilian death toll in Gaza would work in the militant group’s favor, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, citing leaked messages the newspaper said it had seen.
“We have the Israelis right where we want them,” Yahya Sinwar told other Hamas leaders recently, according to one of the messages, the WSJ reported Monday. In another, Sinwar is said to have described civilian deaths as “necessary sacrifices” while citing past independence-related conflicts in countries like Algeria.
The WSJ said it reviewed dozens of messages sent to ceasefire negotiators from Sinwar, who has not been seen in public since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel left 1,200 people dead and another 250 taken hostage. The ensuing Israeli assault aimed at eliminating the group has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians in the strip, according to health authorities there.
Sinwar’s whereabouts are unknown but he is assumed to be hiding deep underground in Hamas’ labyrinthine tunnel system below Gaza. The messages reported by the WSJ offer a rare glimpse into the mind of the man steering Hamas’ thinking on the war and suggest an uncompromising determination to continue fighting, regardless of the human cost.
In another exchange that took place as Israel set a deadline in February to enter Rafah before the Muslim month of Ramadan, the WSJ reported that Sinwar urged Hamas’ political leaders not to make concessions and instead push for a permanent end to the war, adding that high civilian casualties would ramp up global pressure on Israel to halt the conflict.
“Israel’s journey in Rafah won’t be a walk in the park,” Sinwar allegedly said in a message to the Hamas political leadership.
CNN has not seen the leaked messages viewed by the WSJ and is not able to confirm the authenticity of the communications.
Commenting on the WSJ report, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on X: “Sinwar profits off the deaths of Gazan civilians, calling them “necessary sacrifices” in order to urge international pressure on Israel’s efforts to eliminate his terrorist organization.”
Mediators are waiting for a Hamas response to an Israeli proposal presented by US President Joe Biden last month, which aims to release the hostages in Gaza and implement a lasting ceasefire there.
‘Waiting on’ Sinwar
Sinwar’s alleged comments emerged as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was on another tour through the Middle East to push all sides to agree to the latest proposal. Speaking from Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Blinken made it clear that the US believes Sinwar is the ultimate decision-maker.
Some stretching of credulity required to accept those comments as true, given the WSJ's long history as a propaganda mouthpiece for American imperialist leadership. Until there's something more independent, nothing to see there.
Here what Gershon Baskin, who has lots of experience dealing with Hamas as an intermediary, says about ceasefire prospects:
It really annoys me to see all the news channels in Israel and to hear from all of the so-called experts (mostly ex-security people) what Hamas wants. None of those experts, of course, speak to Hamas, but they know for sure what Hamas wants. What is clear to me, both from conversations with Hamas people and from what they publish on their own behalf, is that there will be no deal to release all the Israeli hostages without the end of the war and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a huge release of Palestinian prisoners - including all the murderers of the Israelis in prison (the so-called prisoners with blood on their hands). This is the price for the return of all of the Israeli hostages. I have been saying this from the first month of the war because Hamas says has been saying it from the first month of the war. From my experience with Hamas (18 years of discussions and negotiations) they say what they mean and mean what they say. In my opinion (and I have been saying also this since the beginning of the war) Israel should conduct a secret direct channel with Hamas in order to reach a deal and minimize dangers and risks as much as possible. I know that about a month ago Hamas was ready for a secret direct channel but Israel was not ready. It is true that the main problem is not communication, the main problem is the huge gap between the parties: Hamas is not ready for a deal without ending the war and the Netanyahu government is not ready for a deal that ends the war. As I have also been saying since the beginning of the war – dealing with Hamas can wait, the hostages cannot wait. Gershon Baskin. 12-6-2024