Netanyahu won’t hand Hamas an easy victory

The latest information seeping out from the negotiations for an end to the war in Gaza suggest that agreement between the sides remains out of reach. According to a report by Axios today, Hamas yesterday rejected an updated US proposal, claiming that the new formula aligned with attempts by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to raise ‘new conditions and demands with the aim of undermining the mediators’ efforts and prolonging the war’.

While one should not rule out the possibility that we are the recipients of a messaging strategy designed to secure further concessions in the negotiations, it does appear that the talks are floundering on substantive gaps between the two sides. In turn, this reflects their differing and indeed diametrically opposed goals for the outcome of the war and for the next phase.

The issues thwarting an agreement, according to the latest reports are Israel’s insistence on maintaining control of the Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah crossing which separate Gaza from Egypt, and its continued presence along the Netzarim corridor, which divides Gaza into south and north.