Biden to speak with Netanyahu Wednesday amid cease-fire impasse

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) – US President Joe Biden will speak by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, a source familiar with the plans told Anadolu on condition of anonymity.

Additional details of the upcoming call, including precise timing and topics to be addressed, were not immediately available. But the talks comes amid an impasse in ongoing negotiations to secure a cease-fire in the besieged Gaza Strip, and free the remaining hostages who are being held there amid the war.

The White House is expected to provide a readout of the call after it transpires.

Israeli media earlier Wednesday reported that Qatar and Egypt have warned the US that there is "little chance" for the Palestinian group Hamas to accept its latest proposal for a Gaza cease-fire.

The talks concluded on Friday with what the White House described as a "final bridging proposal" that it put on the table for Israel and Hamas, claiming that it is consistent with the principles supported by Biden on May 31.

A senior Biden administration official who briefed reporters immediately after the talks concluded, said he expects negotiators to reconvene in Cairo the following week "with an aim to conclude" negotiations.

However, Hamas has since rejected the US proposal, saying it aligns with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new conditions.

Following the conclusion of the Doha talks on Friday, Hamas said the newly announced "proposal meets Netanyahu's conditions and aligns with them, particularly his refusal of a permanent cease-fire, (of) a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and his insistence on continuing the occupation of the Netzarim Junction, the Rafah crossing, and the Philadelphi Corridor,” Hamas said in a statement.

The Palestinian group was referring to two strips of land in Gaza, one of which was recently built by Israel and separates the coastal territory into a northern and southern section. The latter Philadelphi Corridor follows the Gaza-Egypt border. The Rafah border crossing sits along the Philadelphi Corridor.

Hamas has long insisted on the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the permanent end to the war as part of any cease-fire deal. But Netanyahu has dismissed the conditions, maintaining his troops will remain in Gaza for as long as he deems necessary.

“He (Netanyahu) also set new conditions in the hostage swap file and retracted from other terms, which obstructs the completion of the deal,” Hamas added.

The group reiterated its commitment to what it agreed on in July based on a plan for a cease-fire that Biden publicly laid out in May, and which the UN Security Council resolution endorsed in June.

For months, the US, Qatar, and Egypt have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and cease-fire and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. But mediation efforts have been stalled due to Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’s demands to stop the war.

Israel has continued its sweeping offensive across the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The conflict has resulted in over 40,170 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and more than 92,740 injuries, according to local health authorities.

The ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.