Biden admits Israel’s defeat in Gaza
Ali Abunimah Power Suits 31 May 2024
Biden summarized what he said was a new Israeli proposal for a three-phase process to exchange Israeli and Palestinian prisoners of war and captives and bring about a “durable end to this war.”
In its broad outlines, the proposal is very similar to an American-backed proposal that Hamas accepted in early May after Israel had approved it.
But Israel then reneged on the deal and escalated its attack on Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city and where the majority of the territory’s population of 2.3 million Palestinians had fled after being forcibly displaced from other areas.
If Biden is telling the truth that this is indeed an Israeli proposal, it would appear Tel Aviv is crawling back less than a month later and trying to make it look as if this is its own magnanimous offer, instead of what it really appears to be: a public admission by Israel, communicated to the world by the American president, that it has lost the war militarily.
In what is probably the most important takeaway, Biden stated: “Indefinite war in pursuit of an unidentified notion of total victory … will only bog down Israel in Gaza, drain the economic, military and human and human resources and further Israel’s isolation in the world.”
“That will not bring hostages home,” the US president added. “That will not, not bring an enduring defeat of Hamas, that will not bring Israel lasting security.”
It is certain that the US has been telling Israel this privately. But for the president to come out and say it from the White House podium completely undercuts Israel’s public assertions that military victory is within reach.
But there are real reasons for skepticism. Biden pointedly did not mention that this proposal came from or was approved by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Biden even acknowledged that “there are those in Israel who will not agree with this plan, and will call for the war to continue indefinitely. Some, some are even in the government coalition.”
One of those may even be Netanyahu. Given Israel’s deeply divided leadership, Biden may well be working with Israeli officials other than Netanyahu in an effort to pressure the prime minister into accepting this deal.
The following is a rush transcript of Biden’s remarks related to Gaza, with my comments on some key points in between the lines in bold italics.
Annotated transcript of President Biden’s proposal:
For the past several months, my negotiators of foreign policy, intelligence community and the like, have been relentlessly focused not just on a ceasefire, that would inevitably be fragile and temporary, but on a durable end of the war, that’s been the focus, a durable end of this war. One that brings all the hostages home, ensures Israel’s security, creates a better day after in Gaza without Hamas in power and sets the stage for political settlement that provides a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.
Biden officials have publicly avoided talking about a ceasefire or an end to the war that fell short of Israel’s stated goal of destroying Hamas. This is now quite a turnabout.
Now after intensive diplomacy, carried out by my team, my many conversations with leaders of Israel, Qatar and Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries, Israel has now offered, Israel has offered a comprehensive new proposal.
As noted above, Biden says this proposal comes from “Israel,” but nowhere does he confirm that it comes from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been the chief obstacle to ceasefire negotiations.
It’s a roadmap to an enduring ceasefire and the release of all hostages. This proposal has been transmitted by Qatar to Hamas.
Today, I want to lay out its terms for American citizens and for the world.
This new proposal has three phases, three. The first phase would last for six weeks. Here’s what it would include: A full and complete ceasefire. A withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza. Release of a number of hostages, including women, the elderly, the wounded, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
There are American hostages who will be released at this stage and we want them home.
Additionally, some remains of hostages who have been killed will be returned to their families, bringing some degree of closure to their terrible grief. Palestinian civilians would return to their homes and neighborhoods in all areas of Gaza, including in the north. Humanitarian assistance would surge with 600 trucks carrying aid into Gaza every single day.
With a ceasefire, that aid could be safely and effectively distributed to all who need it. Hundreds of thousands of temporary shelters, including housing units, would be delivered by the international community.
All that and more would begin immediately. Immediately. During the six weeks of phase one, Israel and Hamas would negotiate the necessary arrangements to get to phase two, which is a permanent end to hostilities.
These broad terms are similar to what were reported to be the terms of the deal that Hamas accepted in early May and which Israel had considered nonstarters.
Now I’ll be straight with you. There are a number of details to negotiate to move from phase one to phase two.
Israel will want to make sure its interests are protected.
But the proposal says if the negotiations take longer than six weeks for phase one, the ceasefire will still continue as long as the negotiations continue. The United States, Egypt and Qatar would work to ensure negotiations keep going, all agreements, all agreements, until all the agreements are reached, and phase two is able to begin.
Then phase two would be an exchange for the release of all remaining living hostages, including male soldiers, Israeli forces will withdraw from Gaza. And as long as Hamas lives up to its commitments, a temporary ceasefire would become in the words of the Israeli proposal, “the cessation of hostilities permanently,” end of quote, cessation of hostilities permanently.
Historically, Hamas has rigorously implemented deals it agrees to while Israel has habitually violated them. We can expect nothing different if a deal here is finally reached
Finally, in phase three, a major reconstruction plan for Gaza would commence and any final remains of hostages who’ve been killed would be returned to their families.
That’s the offer that’s now on the table.
Again, it sounds a lot like the US-approved offer that Hamas accepted in early May and that Israel reneged on.
And what we’ve been asking for, it’s what we need. The people of Israel should know, they can make this offer without any further risk to their own security because they’ve devastated Hamas forces over the past eight months. At this point, Hamas no longer is capable of carrying out another October 7. It’s one of the Israelis’ main objectives in this war, and quite frankly, a righteous one.
Any close observer of the battle on the ground knows that this is not true. Israel has done virtually no damage to the resistance’s fighting ability as is clear from how Israel forces have gone back into some of the first areas of Gaza they entered in the north, and faced fierce resistance and suffered huge losses even in recent days, such as in Jabaliya.
I know there are those in Israel who will not agree with this plan, and will call for the war to continue indefinitely. Some, some are even in the government coalition.
And they’ve made it clear they want to occupy Gaza. They want to keep fighting for years, and hostages are not a priority to them. Well, I’ve urged the leadership in Israel to stand behind this deal. Despite whatever pressure comes. And to the people of Israel, let me say this, as someone who has had a lifelong commitment to Israel, as the only American president who has ever gone to Israel in a time of war, as someone who just sent the US forces to directly defend Israel when it was attacked by Iran, I ask you to take a step back and think what will happen if this moment is lost. We can’t lose this moment.
Here Biden is trying to appeal directly to Israelis, but it may be futile since most Israelis support the genocide. It is odd that he would be appealing to Israelis, including the Israeli government, to accept what is supposedly an Israeli proposal!
Indefinite war in pursuit of an unidentified notion of total victory, will not bring Israel, will not bring down – will only bog down Israel in Gaza, drain the economic, military and human and human resources and further Israel’s isolation in the world. That will not bring hostages home. That will not, not bring an enduring defeat of Hamas that will not bring Israel lasting security.
But a comprehensive approach that starts with this deal will bring hostages home and will lead to a more secure Israel. And once a ceasefire and hostage deal are concluded, it unlocks the possibility of a great deal more progress, including, including calm along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. The United States will help forge a diplomatic resolution, one that ensures Israel’s security and allows people to safely return to their homes without fear of being attacked.
The two above paragraphs are important admissions by Biden that Israel is incapable of winning military conflicts either in Gaza or on the northern front with Lebanon, where the formidable Hizballah resistance organization is entrenched. He’s telling Israelis that if you want “calm,” you have to do a deal.
With the deal, the rebuilding of Gaza will begin, Arab nations and the international community, along with Palestinian and Israeli leaders, to get it done in a manner that does not allow Hamas to rearm. And the United States will work with our partners to rebuild homes, schools and hospitals in Gaza, to help repair communities that were destroyed in the chaos of war.
This is very vague language, probably deliberately so to obfuscate the reality that Israel and the United States have failed to destroy Hamas. They are not going to replace Hamas and yet somehow they are going to reconstruct Gaza while sidelining Hamas. But it is notable that Biden does not make grand declarations either about Hamas being removed and says nothing about who will rule Gaza. That’s all for the good, because that is solely a Palestinian decision. The only way to get this reconstruction done is with Hamas’ agreement, and that seems to be what Biden is implicitly acknowledging.
And with this deal, Israel could come more deeply integrated in the region, including, it’s no surprise to you all, including, you know, a potential historic normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia. Israel could be part of a regional security network to counter the threat posed by Iran. All this progress would make Israel more secure, with Israeli families no longer living in the shadow of a terrorist attack.
This sounds like an effort to offer Israel incentives, but it is delusional to think that after perpetrating genocide, that Israel is going to be integrated into the region. The situation after this genocide is not going to be a return to regional business as usual.
All this would create the conditions for a different future, a better future for the Palestinian people. One of self-determination, dignity, security and freedom.
It is notable here that Biden doesn’t say anything about the “two-state solution,” but resorts to lofty slogans about “self-determination” and “freedom.” Those terms can be made to mean anything, including limited autonomy in a bantustan.
This path is available once the deal is struck. Israel will always have the right to defend itself against the threats to its security and to bring those responsible for October 7 to justice. And the United States will always ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself.
If Hamas fails to fulfill its commitments under the deal, Israel can resume military operations. But Egypt and Qatar have assured me and they are continuing to work to ensure that Hamas doesn’t do that. The United States will help ensure that Israel lives up to their obligations as well.
Again, it is Israel and the United States who cannot be trusted in any deal, historically. Biden, for instance, has opposed Israel’s attack on Rafah, only to turn around and approve it and even to justify its atrocities.
That’s what this deal says. That’s what it says. And we’ll do our part. This is truly a decisive moment. Israel has made their proposal.
Hamas says it wants a ceasefire. This deal is an opportunity to prove whether they really mean it. Hamas needs to take the deal. For months, people all over the world have called for a ceasefire. Now it’s time to raise your voices and demand Hamas comes to the table, agrees to this deal and end this war that they began.
This is galling, given that it is Biden and Israel who long refused any talk of a ceasefire, while Hamas accepted the US-backed proposal earlier this month. It is also absurd to claim that Hamas “began” this war, as if history started on 7 October 2023.
Of course there’ll be differences on the specific details that need to be worked out, as natural. If Hamas comes to negotiate ready to deal, then Israel’s negotiators must be given a mandate, the necessary flexibility to close that deal.
Biden has claimed that this is an Israeli proposal, and yet here he’s calling on Israel to give its own negotiators a mandate. Why would he need to make that appeal publicly if Israel was behind this proposal and wanted to make it happen?
The past eight months have marked heartbreaking pain, pain of those whose loved ones were slaughtered by Hamas terrorists on October 7th. Hostages and families waited in anguish. Ordinary Israelis whose lives are forever marked by the shattering event of Hamas’ sexual violence and ruthless brutality.
And the Palestinian people have endured sheer hell in this war. Too many innocent people have been killed, including thousands of children. Far too many have been badly wounded.
This is so disingenuous. While Biden repeats Israel’s mass rapes lie, he talks about the death and destruction in Gaza as if he had no personal role in it. He approved it, called for it, armed Israel to carry it out, and is still doing so to this day.
We all saw the terrible images from a deadly fire in Rafah earlier this week, following an Israeli strike against targeting Hamas.
It is outrageous that Biden is justifying and excusing Israel’s attack on refugee tents in Rafah.
And even as he worked to surge assistance to Gaza, with 1,800 trucks delivering supplies, these last five days, 1,800, the humanitarian crisis still remains.
I know this is a subject on which people in this country feel deep, passionate convictions. And so do I. This has been one of the hardest, most complicated problems in the world. There’s nothing easy about this, nothing easy about it.
Through it all, though, the United States has worked relentlessly to support Israeli security, to get humanitarian supplies into Gaza, to get a ceasefire and a hostage deal to bring this war to an end.
This is another gross distortion of the US role. Israel deliberately shut off all aid routes into Gaza and the United States helped it cause starvation and catastrophe by cutting off funding to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestine refugees. At any time, the US could have used its enormous leverage to force Israel to reopen the crossings it closed, but Washington has refused to do so.
Yesterday, with this new initiative, we’ve taken an important step in that direction. I want to level with you today as to where we are and what might be possible.
But I need your help.
Everyone who wants peace now must raise their voices. Let the leaders know they should take this deal, work to make it real, make it lasting, and forge a better future out of the tragic terror attack and war.
*Biden is placing himself here as a hapless outside observer, instead of what he is, the key enabler of Israel’s genocide. He is and has always been the key decision maker who could have stopped Israel’s extermination campaign at any time. For months, Americans have been raising their voices against him, demanding he stop the flow of weapons to Israel, that he stop vetoing UN Security Council ceasefire resolutions, that he stop opposing and frustrating efforts to hold Israel accountable, whether at the International Court of Justice or the International Criminal Court.
It’s time to begin this new stage, for the hostages, hostages to come home, for Israel to be secure, for the suffering to stop. It’s time for this war to end. For the day after to begin.
For all his evasions, distortions, lies and victim-blaming, the key takeaway from Biden’s speech is an admission of both Israeli and American failure and the search for a face-saving way out. But if Biden really wants to end the war, he does not need to publicly beg and cajole Israeli leaders. He can just stop the flow of weapons.
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