J Street works to promote an open, honest and rigorous conversation about Israel. The opinions reflected in articles posted in the News Roundup do not necessarily reflect J Street’s positions, and their posting does not constitute an endorsement from J Street.
The Tail That Wagged the Dog, The Times of Israel
J Street Israel Executive Director Nadav Tamir writes, “Blinken’s speech marks the final chord of the Biden Administration’s involvement in the region and symbolizes, perhaps more than anything else, the well-intentioned goals of assisting Israel to end the war and create an arrangement for its aftermath, yet at the same time the failure to turn its ideas into reality. From the very beginning, the Biden Administration has placed the most appropriate and correct proposals on the table but has consistently failed to realize them.”
Gaza Hostage and Ceasefire Deal Imminent After Breakthrough in Doha: Officials, Axios
“There is a breakthrough in the hostage deal negotiations in Doha. Hamas’ military leader in Gaza Mohammed Sinwar gave his OK,” one Israeli official said. A second Israeli official said there is optimism that a deal could be announced by Thursday at the latest. Hamas still hasn’t issued an official statement, but a Palestinian source quoted by Al-Araby al-Jadeed website said the group and other factions in Gaza have a unified position and have given a positive response to the draft ceasefire agreement.
UN Lays Groundwork for Gaza Aid Surge Under Ceasefire but Still Sees Challenges, Reuters
“The U.N. system as a whole is in intense planning and preparation for when a ceasefire comes into play, and how we can increase the aid,” said Sigrid Dujarric, U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Gaza. Among the unknowns are what border crossings would be open into Gaza under a truce and how secure the enclave would be for aid distribution since many shipments have been targeted by armed gangs and looters during the conflict.
A Look at the Terms — and Tensions — in the Israel-Hamas Draft Ceasefire Deal, AP
Lee Keath and Samy Magdy write, “Israel has said it will not agree to a complete withdrawal until Hamas’ military and political capabilities are eliminated and it cannot rearm — ensuring Hamas no longer runs Gaza. Hamas says it will not hand over the last hostages until Israel removes all troops from everywhere in Gaza. So the negotiations will have to get both sides to agree to an alternative for governing Gaza.”
Smotrich Says Gaza War Must Continue, but Doesn’t Say if He Will Try To Thwart Hostage Deal, The Times of Israel
Smotrich did not indicate how he plans to act regarding the hostage deal, stating that his only priority is “how to fully achieve the goals of the war, total victory, the complete military and civil destruction of Hamas, and returning the hostages home.”
Blinken Makes the Case for Post-War Reconstruction, Security and Governance of Gaza, AP
Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a last-minute case Tuesday for a plan for the post-war reconstruction and governance of Gaza as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas appears tantalizingly close to completion.
Palestinians Dedicate West Bank Olive Grove to Jimmy Carter, The Times of Israel
The former president’s legacy is “rooted” among Palestinians and across the globe, says Abbas Melhem, executive manager of the Palestinian Farmers Union. Carter was one of the few world leaders who “stood firmly supporting the struggle of the Palestinians for independence and for freedom,” he says.
Gaza ‘Humanitarian Zone’ Struck Almost 100 Times Since May, BBC Verify Finds, BBC
The area in Gaza which Israel’s military has told people to go to “for their safety” has been hit by 97 strikes since May, BBC Verify analysis has revealed.
The Gaza Cease-fire and Hostage Deal Is the Same One From Eight Months Ago. Why Did Netanyahu Accept It Now?, Haaretz
Alon Pinkas writes, “Throughout the first half of 2024, Netanyahu was deliberately seeking an open confrontation with the White House. ‘The U.S. is trying to impose a Palestinian state on Israel,’ he sanctimoniously and bogusly lamented without any basis. By May 2024, he had reneged on and disowned a plan he himself had presented to Biden. During those months, the hostage and cease-fire deal that may come to fruition in the coming days was already on the table.”
Netanyahu’s Media Poison Machine, The New Yorker
Ruth Margalit writes, “Talk-show host Yinon Magal says that he is both a journalist and an entertainer, just ‘as a cucumber is both green and long.’ After the families of the Israeli hostages in Gaza held a vigil to mark a hundred days of war, he performed a burlesque of sympathy on the air: ‘Oh, the grief! The grief!’”
[Updated Issue Brief] The Case Against Sanctioning The International Criminal Court, J Street
Avraham Spraragen from the J Street Policy Center shares analysis of recent legislation to sanction the International Criminal Court and why this legislation threatens the interests and reputation of the United States, as well as the rules-based global order.