World Insights: Chances of peace still remote for Gaza despite ongoing ceasefire talks

INA-  sources


As widely anticipated, the latest round of negotiations on a ceasefire in Gaza has resumed since Sunday in the Qatari capital of Doha, following a months-long stalemate.

The comeback of talks, which followed in the wake of eventful developments, including the assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and Israel's completion of a new wave of reprisals against Iran, is widely perceived as another attempt to break the cycle of violence that has long plagued the Middle East.

Analysts, however, have cautioned that the prospects for peace remain bleak, given the deep splits over ceasefire conditions that still persist among Israel, Hamas and regional stakeholders like Egypt.

OPPORTUNITY FOR CEASEFIRE
David Barnea, chief of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, returned from Doha on Monday after discussing proposals for a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas with U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.
According to a statement by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, the discussion focused on "a new unified framework that integrates previous proposals and also takes into account the main issues and recent developments in the region."

Following Barnea's trip to Doha, the mediators and Hamas will continue discussion in the coming days "in order to evaluate the feasibility of talks and the continued effort to advance a deal," said the statement.

The talks resumed following the killing of Sinwar by Israel earlier this month.

Sinwar was viewed by Israel as the primary architect of Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 others taken hostage. He was also branded as "the main obstacle" to productive negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

Following the Hamas leader's death, the United States urged the Israeli government to "capitalize" on the "opportunity" created by Sinwar's death to bring the conflict to a close.

Analysts, notably Natan Sachs, director of the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings, observed that Sinwar's death "improves -- somewhat -- chances of a ceasefire deal," as "a change in Hamas leadership could open the door for others to lead a different path on negotiations."

PEACE STILL OUT OF TOUCH

Ahead of the ceasefire talks in Doha, Egypt proposed a two-day ceasefire in Gaza to facilitate the exchange of four Israeli hostages for some Palestinian prisoners in Israel.

In response to this proposal, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said Monday that if such a proposal was made, it would accept it "immediately."

On top of the revival of peace talks, Israel's willingness to consider a short truce seems to offer a glimmer of hope for peace, but the escalating military operations by Israel on the ground and the deep-rooted disagreements among different parties regarding the conditions for a ceasefire reveal the stark reality that prospects for true peace remain out of touch.

On the eve of the ceasefire talks, the Israeli military launched "precise and targeted" airstrikes on military targets in Iran as a payback for the attacks from Iran in recent months.

In Lebanon, dozens of people are killed daily by Israeli military actions, with a total of over 2,700 Lebanese having lost their lives as a result of these operations, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

In Gaza, the Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks has amounted to 43,020, with 101,110 others injured, said Gaza-based health authorities on Monday.

Aside from the lack of signs of de-escalation in the military conflicts on different fronts, there is no indication of compromise regarding the conditions for a comprehensive ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Key issues, not least those concerning whether Israeli forces will withdraw from the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing and the Philadelphi Corridor, as well as the status of Hamas' governance in the Gaza Strip, remain unresolved, which had also been the underlying reasons for the failure of previous negotiations.

"It seems they're not ready to make any concessions ... Israel has decided to push for a definitive military solution," Luciano Zaccara, an associate professor at the Gulf Studies Center at Qatar University, said on X, expressing his doubts about a breakthrough in the talks.



source: Xinhua