Is Biden Out of the Loop on Israel-Hamas Negotiations?
Jazz Shaw
You've probably seen the breathless headlines emerging this week featuring Joe Biden suggesting that a ceasefire deal in Gaza was "close" to being finalized and that at least some hostages and prisoners could be exchanged. Most of us would likely be glad to see hostages coming home, so that's good news, right? And Biden assured us that he'd gotten that information from National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, so the claim must have been pretty solid. There's only one problem with the story and the assumptions that followed, though. As the Free Beacon quickly pointed out, some reporters had been following up with their sources in Israel and around the Middle East where the major players are involved. None of them seemed to have any idea what Biden was talking about.
After President Joe Biden on Monday suggested that a ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas was imminent, several parties in the negotiations appeared to cast doubt on his comment.
"My national security adviser tells me that we're close," Biden told reporters in New York. "We're close. We're not done yet. My hope is by next Monday we'll have a ceasefire."
Representatives from Hamas, Israel, and mediator Qatar, however, all reportedly said that his optimism was exaggerated.
"The primary and main issues of the ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces are not clearly stated, which delays reaching an agreement," two anonymous senior Hamas officials told Reuters Tuesday.
The Hamas officials described "big gaps to be bridged." Israel's Ynet News website cited unnamed, high-ranking Israeli officials who told them that they "didn't know what Biden's optimism is based on." Qatar's foreign affairs ministry seemed similarly bewildered, saying they remained hopeful "but not necessarily optimistic" that a ceasefire deal could be reached.
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https://hotair.com/jazz-shaw/2024/02/28/is-biden-out-of-the-loop-on-israel-hamas-negotiations-n3783762
