Friday July 19, 2024, during a forum in Colorado, the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken announced that negotiations on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas are approaching the “finish line” . For more than 287 days, war has raged between the two entities, a conflict having already cost the lives of more than 38,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians. We take stock of the progress of the negotiations.
The United States plays in between
“I think we’re a few yards away and moving toward the finish line of getting a deal that would produce a ceasefire, bring the hostages home and put us on a better path to trying to build lasting peace and stability,” said Antony Blinken. According to him, Israel and Hamas each accepted the framework agreement presented by Joe Biden several weeks ago. “There remain questions to be resolved, to be negotiated. This is exactly what we are doing,” he added.
At the end of May, the American president unveiled a plan aimed at establishing a “lasting peace” in the Middle East. Divided into three stages, it notably demanded the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the towns of Gaza, a release of certain hostages initially, in exchange for the return of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, time to allow the complete opening to humanitarian aid. The second phase comprising the total release of the hostages, a “permanent” cessation of fighting and the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. “It’s not a good deal,” declared one of Benjamin Netanyahu’s main advisers to the British Times, while claiming to accept it.
What place for the European Union?
In an interview with AFP, Dutch diplomat Sven Koopmans believes that today’s priority is “to help put an end to the suffering in Gaza”. However, the European Union struggles to speak with one voice on this issue, as the alliance brings together actors with different interests in international relations. The EU special envoy for the Middle East peace process nevertheless believes that behind the scenes, Brussels is one of the capitals in the world where the most work is being done to end the crisis. “We are the most important political neighbor of the two parties”, he affirms, and the recognition of the State of Palestine by 3 members of the EU (Spain, Ireland and Slovenia) “contributes” to establishing a diplomatic solution.
“There is a slight general movement, which means that more member states than in the past are saying that it is not necessary that [the recognition of a Palestinian state] takes place at the very end” of a peace process, says Sven Koopmans. According to him, Benjamin Netanyahu “has a point of view different from that of much of the rest of the world”. An Israeli delegation is expected to visit Brussels in the second half of 2024 to discuss the “situation in Gaza” and “respect for human rights”. This meeting “will give rise to very in-depth discussions on what we expect from our Israeli partner,” said the European diplomat.
Despite these discussions, Israel continues its attacks on Palestinian territory. According to the Hamas government’s Health Ministry, at least 71 people have died in the past 48 hours. Izzat El-Reshiq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, accused the Israeli government of wanting to push the organization to end negotiations, according to Reuters. Hamas also denied any intention of leaving the discussions.
This new conflict was triggered in reaction to the unprecedented attack carried out on October 7 by Hamas commandos in southern Israel, which resulted in the death of 1,195 people, the majority civilians. Israel then launched a military offensive which devastated the Gaza Strip, killing 38,919 people so far, mostly civilians. For Antony Blinken, a ceasefire would only be the beginning. Above all, it would be necessary to establish a “clear plan” for the post-war period, in order to avoid falling into “chaos”.
This article is originally published on ouest-france.fr
