Biden’s proposal provides roadmap for permanent cease-fire in Gaza: Qatar

ISTANBUL

Qatar said Tuesday that the principles outlined by US President Joe Biden provide a roadmap for a permanent cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

On Friday, Biden said Israel presented a three-phase deal that would end hostilities in Gaza and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave.

The plan includes a cease-fire, a hostage-prisoner exchange, and reconstruction of Gaza. Washington and Tel Aviv, however, are at odds over the proposal.

“The principles outlined by President Biden regarding the Gaza cease-fire and hostage swap meet the demands of all sides,” Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told a press conference in Doha.

“These principles provide a roadmap for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and ending the crisis,” he added.

The Qatari spokesman said there are no clear positions so far from Israel or Palestinians regarding Biden’s proposal.

"In Israel, there are differences among ministers (about the proposal), with some supporting Biden's initiative and others opposing it,” he added.

“There has been no clear stance from Hamas on the initiative," he added.

Hamas earlier said that it would deal “positively” with Biden’s proposal.

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he was “not ready to stop" the war on Gaza, claiming that Biden's remarks about the cease-fire proposal were “inaccurate.”

His coalition partners, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have threatened to topple the government if Netanyahu agrees to Biden’s cease-fire plan.

Hamas is believed to be holding over 120 Israeli hostages in Gaza, including an unspecified number of corpses, according to Israeli figures.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 36,500 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and nearly 83,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nearly eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala