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Biden's Ceasefire Push in Gaza Faces Obstacles
(Wall Street Journal) Marcus Walker - President Biden outlined a previously nonpublic Israeli proposal for a ceasefire and exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. But disagreements on the details will likely remain hard to overcome because they reflect wide gaps between Israel's and Hamas's war aims and political interests, negotiators involved in the talks say. Hamas's Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar would back a deal to end the war if it secures the survival of Hamas as a military and political force in Gaza and puts Hamas at the head of the Palestinian national cause. Sinwar believes time is on his side, according to messages relayed to mediators from Arab states. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Saturday, "Israel's conditions for ending the war haven't changed: The destruction of Hamas's military and governing capabilities, the freeing of all hostages, and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel." A majority of the Israeli public, still reeling from the shock of Oct. 7, also supports continuing the war until Hamas is crushed. Netanyahu's office on Friday suggested that Biden didn't fully capture Israel's negotiating position. "The precise framework presented by Israel" would allow Israel to uphold its goal of destroying Hamas, it said. Biden said Hamas's military had already been severely degraded. But that doesn't go far enough for Israel's government or its military. An early end to the fighting would allow Hamas to regenerate itself as the dominant force in Gaza.