There’s a hostage deal proposal from Hamas
And as usual, it’s not something that Israel could afford to entertain for even a moment – although you never know. Between the pressure from the Biden administration and much of the world, as well as the internal pressure to get hostages home before they’re all dead, plus precedent such as the Shalit deal, there’s always that possibility although I believe it’s small.
Here’s what Hamas is reported to be proposing:
According to a draft document seen by Reuters, the Hamas counterproposal envisions three phases, each lasting 45 days.
During the first 45-day phase, all Israeli women hostages, males under 19 and the elderly and sick would be released, in exchange for female and underage Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli jails. Israel would withdraw troops from populated areas.
Implementation of the second phase would not begin until the sides conclude “indirect talks over the requirements needed to end the mutual military operations and return to complete calm.”
The second phase would include the release of remaining male hostages and full Israeli withdrawal from all of Gaza. Bodies and remains would be exchanged during the third phase. …
The terror group, which governs Gaza, said in an addendum to the proposal that it sought the release of 1,500 prisoners from Israeli jails, a third of whom it wanted to select from a list of Palestinians serving life sentences.
Much more of the demands at the link, including the reinstatement of terror-buddy UNRWA.
So basically it’s “we give you the hostages if you end the war and free all our prisoners, including terrorist murderers. And also, Gaza gets all sorts of aid and rebuilding.”
Not a surprise. That’s what the hostage-taking has been all about. Hamas sees it as a “get-out-of-jail-free” card, a ticket to Hamas victory. Israel has taken the bait before, so it makes sense that Hamas figured from the start that Israel would take the bait now.
Also:
Unnamed Israeli officials told the Ynet news site on Wednesday that “we cannot accept a demand to stop the war,” and highlighted the “demand for the release of 1,500 Palestinian prisoners, including serious terrorists.”
Nonetheless, Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said Doha was “optimistic” after receiving the terror group’s “positive response.” US President Joe Biden, on the other hand, said Hamas’s reply was “a little over the top,” while noting that negotiations were ongoing.
Yes, Joe; just a little over the top.
Leaving Hamas active and reinstating UNRWA. No deal. I don’t think Israel will go for this.
By the way, Neo, the evil United Nations entity is “UNRWA,” not “UNWRA.”
No deal.
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israels-netanyahu-rejects-gaza-ceasefire-offer-pledges-defeat-hamas-2024-02-07/
Kate:
Yes, thanks, will fix.
It would be an improvement in our daily ‘news’ if its authors and purveyors would post on the front page, opposite their daily ‘Evil Israel’ article, an ‘Evil Hamas’ article paying exquisite attention to the brutal treatment of, and suffering by, the hostages being held by Hamas. Just keeping those mistreated innocents in the public eye on a daily basis would temper the drift of public opinion towards sympathy for Hamas and oblivion for their gruesome crimes.
Not the only one
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/fraudulent-case-against-violent-settlers
Sheryl Sandberg:
___________________________________________
—“Sheryl Sandberg Is on a Mission to Make Sure Oct. 7 Horrors Aren’t Forgotten:
Filming a documentary in Israel, the former Meta [Facebook, previously] COO says this is ‘the most important work of my life’
https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/sheryl-sandberg-is-on-a-mission-to-make-sure-oct-7-horrors-arent-forgotten-ea56df47
___________________________________________
Sandberg is well-known as a feminist, also a protege of Larry Summers. She wrote the book, “Lean In” about female empowerment in corporations.
She is yet another example of an American Jew and Democrat who refuses to toe the Woke line against Israel and Jews.
It’s not going to be so easy for Democrats to ram through a cease-fire or the two-state solution malarkey in Israel or in the D party.
Some things, such as October 7, can’t be unseen.
Are they kidding
https://twitter.com/DavidM_Friedman/status/1755358860045426879
Well to be fair most of the hospitals were ammo dumps and military headquarters.
I expect anti-Israel anti-Semitic, pro-Hamas nonsense from the left. But there seems to be a small but significant minority of “conservatives” who have been spouting the same BS: Israel is acting like the Nazis, Hamas didn’t rape and murder women and children, the “Zionists” manipulate US politicians, and so on. These are people who before October 7th seemed to be reliably sensible on a range of issues: the border, wokeism, Trump, etc. Then after 10/7 the masks came off. One example is Ian Smith, whom I admired when he refused to close his gym in NJ during the Covid lockdowns, and got fined and maybe even imprisoned. Many examples on his X stream, such as this:
https://x.com/iansmithfitness/status/1745514048999801123
Also several previously sensible commenters over at Althouse.
Jimmy:
Thing is, anti-Semitism is an equal-opportunity hatred. It takes slightly different forms on left and right, but there’s no dearth of it on either side, and I’ve noticed it building on the right in blog comments for many years. I have a draft for a post about it somewhere.
I would still say that it’s 10 to 1 from the left. But the left is wrong on everything, so it’s less troubling in a way than when I hear it from people who are generally right on everything else.
It is past time for the Hamas tunnels to be flooded, drowning all the rats. Yes, hostages will be sacrificed in the process, but a sacrifice is a sacrifice (to G-d if you will, like Abraham and his son, though G-d pulled back his demand). Over 1200 were murdered by Hamas on 10/7, so these few hostage souls must not be an impediment to Hamas’ obliteration. Hamas must not be allowed to survive, not one. None. I can imagine the Hamas rats scrambling up their tunnels to escape the water, as if their lives meant anything, but the slaughtered Israelis meant nothing.
Cicero, I saw an update on the tunnel flooding project. It’s moderately effective in tunnels near the Mediterranean, but less effective inland because the tunnels are not tightly sealed and more water goes out into the surrounding soil than fills the tunnels.
Kate-
Water is just one tunnel-cleansing, anti-Hamas way. There are others, e.g. cyanide gas, as well as stationing Israeli troopers to gun down any Hamas rats emerging.
The point is to show NO mercy to these evil-doers. Pouring gasoline into tunnels and igniting it comes to mind–sudden O2 deprivation, plus a detonation. There are Israeli chemists who are much better versed than I!
Bottom line for me is the hostages held by Hamas are a sacrifice, much as the Israel soldiers, some thirty or so, who have been killed fighting Hamas since 10/7.