How about now? Gaza truce talks intensify after months of impasse • FRANCE 24 English

How about now? Gaza truce talks intensify after months of impasse • FRANCE 24 English

for the first time since November could there finally be a rest bite in Gaza as Waring parties and negotiators shuttle through Cairo will try to see through the smoke screens and the mixed messages if the stars are truly aligning Beyond a swap of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners it’s tough at face value to comprehend indirect talks between two sides whose official line is the elimination of the other as the likes of the visiting US Secretary of State into a grand bargain from which a truce graduates into a full-blown rewrite of 75 years of Israeli Palestinian relations the first step would be a ceasefire and as interested third parties like the US and Egypt feel the pressure over a war that’s in its 7eventh month what do they do to help get a deal over the line today in the France 24 uh debate we’re asking uh about the chances of a truce with us from Jerusalem he’s a former negotiator with Hamas columnist Gershon Baskin is’s also Middle East director of the international communities organization thank you for being with us thank you from Washington Nancy oyle president and CEO of the center for international policy Think Tank thanks for joining us thank you for having me from London former Diplomat Nicholas Wescott professor of practice and diplomacy at soaz University of London will be joining us shortly and France 24 Jerusalem correspondent Iris mocker welcome back thank you your reactions on the hash f24 debate before IR he give us the latest snapshot on negotiations a look at well who’s pressuring who for Israel’s prime minister it’s about Shoring up his far-right Coalition while at the same time addressing the heat from moderates who want the remaining hostages home Caris Garland has that story in large letters laid out on the street their message is clear Rafa can wait hostages cannot marking the last day of Passover hundreds of Israelis took to the streets in Tel Aviv intensifying pressure on the government to secure the release of captives in Gaza we’re sick of this government we are sick of the whole process we want a hostage deal now we want the hostages back home Hamas should also go forward and and make make a deal aren’t they sick of what happens to their people protesters have their hopes pinned on a new ceasefire proposal that Hamas is now mulling over according to several sources the deal would require the Palestinian militants to release some 30 hostages and in return Israel would suspend its planned ground offensive in Rafa and release 1,000 Palestinians from Israeli jails if the deal is accepted there will be a ceasefire for 40 days allowing for the safe entry of more humanitarian Aid after talks in Cairo Washington says it’s hopeful Hamas will agree Hamas has before it a proposal that is extraordinarily extraordinarily generous uh on the part of Israel and In This Moment the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas they have to decide and they have to decide quickly on Monday US President Joe bid held phone calls with his Egyptian counterpart and the Qatari Amir urging them to exert all efforts towards freeing hostages he said their release was now the only obstacle to an immediate ceasefire IR Marler those truce talks in Cairo uh we’ve seen this flurry of back and forth in the last week how close are we that’s the question everyone is asking and the answer is we don’t know I have just seen someone on Israeli TV who’s very well connected in Egypt suggesting that yya Sinar has seen that’s the Hamas leader in Gaza he has seen uh the uh proposal and he said what he thinks which is that it’s good but not good enough and that’s being sent back to Egypt what we know from the Israeli side is they haven’t sent negotiators yet they’re waiting to see what the Hamas response will be uh and in Israel the feeling is it’s either a deal or a rough military operation that’s what I hear repeated over and over uh and perhaps that doesn’t worry yya sinir as much um even though from the reports I’ve been reading it does worry the Palestinian population of Gaza very much gersan Basin the last time there was a truce it was November it lasted one week did you think at the time but there would be fighting all the way to day it’s impossible to imagine that we were still almost 7 months into this war with 133 Israeli hostages still in Gaza and about 40,000 Palestinians dead a majority of them women and children this is just horrendous and horrific in in every term of of thinking about this this world that land um there has to be a truce we have to have this war ended the hostages have to come home and we need a political Solution that’s going to move us out of this conflict that we’ve been in for too long Israelis and Palestinians have been killing each other for more than a hundred years and this should be the end this should be the final battle between these two people but we have a government in Israel that refuses to put a political plan on the table we have a prime minister who’s interested in prolonging the war because it prolongs his own life time in office and we have a very difficult Hamas government in Gaza which is underground and seems not to care very much about the welfare of its people this is how it appears right now and we may be on the cusp of an agreement but it’s still very um iffy if we’re going to get there why is it that the Stars could iffy possibly align now well there was extreme Egyptian pressure on the is ready side the Egyptian Central Intelligence team was here in Israel for three days this is unprecedented they stayed over for three nights in Israel and worked with the Israeli negotiating team and the Israeli War cabinet they got the Israeli agreement on terms that Israel was not agreeing to before mainly on the issue of free movement for Palestinians within the Gaza Strip that Israel would enable and and perhaps even facilitate um this was a sticking point um and now the Egyptians are working on putting the pressure on Hamas I think that we heard from secretary blinken in is also American pressure on Hamas and everyone is waiting to see if his Hamas is going to give in on what has been its Central demand which isn’t his ready commitment to end the war and unfortunately we’re talking about a limited number of hostages I think this is an error the negotiators should have brought forth a deal that would have brought all the hostages out but that would require Israel to agree to end the war and they’re not yet ready to do that Nano Kyle interesting listening to Gerson there in your view how much influence does Egypt have when it how much leverage does it have when it comes to Israel and when it comes to Hamas uh well um the for the first time last week president CCE himself said that Rafa is a a red line and even alluded to how this will be a threat to the peace treaty and uh these were like very strong words I mean they were vocal by other Egyptian officials in the past but this is the time when CCE is actually speaking out realizing what arfa Invasion would entail uh it’s uh it will be a huge political cost as well as a huge security cost uh for Egypt and for CCE himself so it is more of what’s is at stake for Egypt I mean and and uh I think president CC has communicated this uh repeatedly to the United States and repeatedly to the Israeli government uh right now it’s the the space where both Hamas and Israeli officials have uh come to the table realizing that at the moment both Hamas and Israel and other countries around the world I mean it’s it’s it’s a total uh loss for everyone there’s no uh big winner over here and the realization of the continuation of the loss is is what’s actually drawing people back to the table particularly this time uh the representatives of mass like went in uh with a hope to get a deal they presented some concessions even in the numbers going from the prisoners and uh and host went from 1 to 200 and then 1 to 100 and then 1 to 5050 uh and that’s an indication to uh the level of concessions that they willing to take on the other side I mean again Israel uh the the representatives from Israel were were were going to Egypt with an authorization to reach a deal however we have a in Israel itself where you see the far right as said uh is like calling for continuation of the war and the total the destruction of Gaza and and all the variations of these and you also but at the same time you have a pressure from the people who uh uh are not seeing any uh results or any progress uh after pressure from two sides Nancy we’re going to try to to to reconnect with you because the the audio uh seems to be dipping out apologies uh for that we’re going to try to fix that as soon as possible um you mentioned there uh the the uh Israeli Prime Minister uh taking the heat but wanting to hang on this Tuesday Benjamin Netanyahu telling a meeting with families of fallen soldiers that come hell or high water the Army is going uh to take Rafa later he issued uh a video statement we will enter Rafa because we have no other choice we will destroy herass battalions there and we will complete all the objectives of the war including the repatriation of our abductees now that’s in contrast to what netanyahu’s foreign minister told Israeli television station channel 12 on Saturday the release of hostages is a top priority for us the female and male hostages if there is a deal we will do a deal even if it means putting off plans for Rafa yes to put off the planned operation Rafa to step up the deal if there is a deal we will halt the operation we will do whatever is required to bring the hostages back which one is it well uh that’s a very good question perhaps on some level it’s both because Netanyahu has two audiences in mind one is the people carrying out the negotiations and the families of the hostages and the greater and greater numbers of the Israeli public turning out uh every Saturday night for the protests now linking to two groups you know hostages now elections now so that that’s there’s that public who want the hostages back who say an operation in Rafa can wait but the hostages can’t and then there’s his right-wing voters and the right-wing the farri members of his coalition government uh two leaders have come out today and said no no there must be an operation in Rafa nothing nothing should stop that and um threatening that they would leave the government I heard the opposition leader are saying how ridiculous is this the tail is wagging the dog uh and Netanyahu simply jumps when these right-wing Partners tell him what to do instead of them being J junior members of his government so you can see a a range of people that Netanyahu is speaking to it can get confusing certainly if you’re outside the country but also if you’re inside the country because it depends who he’s talking to what you hear actually yeah gersan Baskin very quickly on this uh uh it was Benjamin nyaho playing to the gallery remember that clip we just heard of the foreign minister was from last Saturday uh did he did he give the game away by staying no actually if there’s a deal we won’t go to Rafa no I think look the Army has called up reserves in preparation for the incursion into Rafa um and Natan is holding firm to the statement that he made that there will be an attack into to Rafa I look at this more as a negotiating tactic but we have to understand a threat is only good if you in tend to carry it out if it’s an empty threat then the other side knows it as well and one of the concerns of Hamas is certainly to avoid the incursion into Rafa where there are one and a half million Palestinians crowded in it would be disastrous and catastrophic and I think that the the region King abdalah and Jordan and president aisi and the Saudis and the emiratis and the bahrainis and the qataris and everyone wants to avoid this incursion into Rafa so I think we have to relate to it as a real possibility that Israel will do it if there is no deal the best way to avoid it is having a deal having a ceasefire having the hostages begin to come home Nicholas Wescott thank you for being with us here in the France 24 debate and apologies for the technical issues we had in London at the outset there uh you you uh we just saw a moment ago uh images of Anthony blinkin the US Secretary of State Landing uh in Israel the U the bid Administration which is repeatedly said don’t invade Rafa it’s going to create a humanitarian disaster without a plan for evacuation don’t go into Rafa don’t do a ground operation at haste uh if as Gerson Baskin says they’re making preparations for it and they do uh carried out what does Joe Biden do then I think we have to realize that the geostrategic situation has changed significantly since the exchange of attacks between Israel and Iran because hither to Israel felt it could live within a relatively secure bubble under the US umbrella it now realizes it is dependent on its Arab neighbors to help as well in protect it from Iran that changes The Leverage that the US has and uh therefore this acceleration of the negotiations for a ceasefire Lincoln’s presence again uh is to try and increase pressure on the Netanyahu government and in Israel itself the ground is beginning to move under netanyahu’s feet but he is still there and for him continuing the conflict in Gaza is essential for his political survival so the US are facing a brick wall in the netan who will not uh sign up to a ceasefire deal uh unless he feels he has got at least one of his War aims to get all the hostages back but he set himself unachievable AIMS in destroying Hamas and getting all the hostages back and he’s having to face that reality Lincoln is there to help him face that reality so you’re saying because of the fact that you’ve had uh this tit fortat direct confrontation uh between Israel and Iran that uh other Regional play players have more leverage explain because when Iran attacked Israel relied to some extent on intelligence and in some cases intervention from the Arab countries uh around it particularly Jordan uh and to some extent others in terms of the intelligence they got to ward off that attack successfully and therefore to some extent the way they are dependent on their Arab neighbors as well as on the US umbrella has become clearer and it has also had an impact on Arab governments themselves we saw as you were saying that uh president Ali has got tougher and that’s because he is under pressure from his uh public opinion from the street uh to deliver something avoid the Palestinians being forced into Egypt so Israel is under more pressure and is more susceptible to leverage from those Arab neighbors than it was before and the US is building on that working with the Arab neighbors they still have a significant obstacle uh but the US leader of the Senate the Democrat has himself said you know it is time for Netanyahu to go uh and that chimes with the protests demanding elections now in Israel the question is how long Netanyahu can stav that off and part of his means of staving that off is saying the war must go on Nancy o Kyle uh there were writing uh Benjamin nany’s political obituary on October the eth he’s still there well I mean uh he is still there he’s the great Survivor nanio Kyle yeah I mean he’s still there because he’s using all the tools he has to maintain uh the the the war which is connected to his uh Lifeline in the office he understands very well that if this war ends he will not no longer be in office let alone in the legal consequences that he is going to face I mean he continues to raise the voice or support the voice of or uh even play on the right-wing extremist in Israel but at the same time this can only go for so long particularly given uh what the um Israeli population are seeing given that seeing that there is a proof of concept that when there was truth only positive results came out and hostages came back and at the same time also even economically the country is getting hurt uh for the second time on April 19th due to the escalation with Iran standing our poor low the longterm credit breeding of Israel that comes after three months when Moody did the same uh so these are all factors that is um creating a lot of pressure uh on him he continues to play the card of the destruction of Hamas and ending that but I think also people understand that this war and this conflict uh is not only a conflict that can happen a military solution that at the end of the day they will have to reach a political solution for that Anthony blinkin starting the week in Saudi Arabia there the US Secretary of State met with the Crown Prince uh and also attended a foreign ministers conference where he talked up uh a grand bargain Palestinian statehood in exchange for normalization of ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia the work that Saudi Arabia and the United States have been doing together in terms of uh our own agreements uh I think is potentially very close to completion but then in order to move forward with normalization two things will be required Comm and Gaza and a credible Pathway to a Palestinian State uh so to the extent we finish our work uh between us then I think what’s been a hypothetical or a theoretical question suddenly becomes real and people will have to make decisions interesting Nancy o KY In that clip he talks about calm in Gaza yeah I mean uh what secretary blink is uh reflecting of the US policy since the beginning of the war where there is a huge gap and disconnect between rhetoric and policy if we want calm in Gaza uh then we stop aiding and supporting and sending arms to Israel I mean you cannot say that Rafa has a red line and you can say we want calm in Gaza but continue to arm uh Israel even at the risk of breaking us laws because by law if Israel is violating International humanitarian law that Aid should be suspended to Israel and next months they were they are going to be in a more difficult situation where the Administration has to report to Congress according to the National Security memorandum that the President issued in February on whether Israel is violating human uh international human materal law and human rights uh in its conflict and of course I mean there is enough evidence and public evidence from uh credible organizations that shows all those violations so so this is one thing the other thing I mean if we are optimistic about the US supporting a political solution you cannot go to the same framework that actually led to the current situation which is some cosmetic uh deals with Israel that does not really give real uh rights and self-determination to the Palestinian people the putting on the table the recognition of a Palestinian State as a label is not going to do anything so without real uh recognition that includes what it means to have a sovereign state and what boundaries are there and more importantly what are the Milestones you cannot have just a general promise in a deal and expect that this this will have an impact on a lasting pce all let’s let’s address first point one of what you said there by the way the US state department Monday stating it’s found five units of the Israeli military responsible for gross violations of human rights but uh it’s still in conversations uh with the the government of Israel before imposing sanctions meanwhile the Reuters news agency reports this Tuesday that prosecutors from the international criminal court have interviewed staff from gaza’s two biggest hospitals that’s the first confirmation that the ICC is building a case fueling speculation of an arrest warrant against Israeli uh government officials on that score the US reminding reporters it does not recognize the IC since uh this president has come into office we have worked to reset our relationship with the ICC and we are in contact with the court on a range of issues uh including in connection to the Court’s important work on darur on Ukraine on uh Sudan as well uh but on this uh investigation our uh position is is clear we continue to believe that the ICC does not have uh jurisdiction over over the Palestinian situation Nicholas Wescott uh how’s that sitting uh for the rest of the world uh the United States that alak cart recognizes or not uh files that the ICC is working on for most of the members of the EU and the UK they are members of the ICC and uh a I believe a legal case is already underway in the UK to challenge the British government in continuing to supply arms to Israel in the light of these potential uh contraventions of international humanitarian law which is a requirement that they are respected for British arms exports um so if the ICC takes up this case and the UK the EU have encouraged it to gather evidence on the situation in Syria even though Syria is not a member of the ICC Ukraine even know Russia has also not been a member but the IC has the capability and indeed the role to collect evidence even in cases where uh the countryes concerned may not be members what then happens whether it proceeds to a legal case uh remains to be seen but it will be difficult for those countries that are members of the ICC and respect its jurisdiction if it comes out with accusations of conservation of international humanitarian law and they are still selling s to Israel that would be a significant political problem IR marcker does the uh prime minister of Israel care about the IC uh apparently yes so all the newspapers tell me um there’s descriptions from journalists from Israeli journalists about Panic inside uh the prime minister’s office when he realized that actually he personally could be subject to one of those IC orders which would mean that if he landed in a European Capital uh of a country that did recognize or is part of the um international criminal court then they would have to arrest him and take him off so that that thought uh that he himself would personally have to pay a price has apparently so Israeli journalists tell us um it really does rank wrankle with him and it might also be there’s some speculation uh another of the factors that has gone into this change of Israeli position um on the on a hostage deal and a ceasefire now what is Gershon Basin what’s changing the equation is it the ICC is it the pressure we mentioned at the outset with the Egyptians and the uh the uh that have been uh stepping up their diplomacy the fact as you heard Nicholas Wescott say about uh how Iran changes the equation I think it’s all of that and it’s also the pressure coming from within Israeli Society both within the military and the National Security establishment and from the street in particular the families of the hostages who can’t believe that we’re almost 7 months into this war and their loved ones are still in Gaza there’s a belief that probably a majority of the hostages are no longer alive and every day they stay in Gaza is a risk to their lives this is part of the ethos of Israel that we don’t leave anyone behind and that ethos is being challenged by Mr nany and his government of putting the priority of the war effort before the priority of bringing home the hostages and this is a breaking point for Israeli society as many Israelis see it and I think it’s why 2third of Israelis today want elections to take place in this year in 2024 there is a small majority of those who believe we should wait until the end of the war but more and more Israelis are beginning to understand that there is no end of the war in sight as long as nany is the the prime minister so we’re going to see mounting public pressure I believe on pushing for a deal and pushing for elections in Israel and this this is the change that we need to see happen it should have happened months ago it’s happening now and we get to the second point of what Nancy okai was talking about is it just a truce or is it a truce and something more uh at that conference in Saudi Arabia the foreign minister uh putting an updated bilateral defense deal with Washington uh in the mix of what happens in the broader region right and I think in addition to that what we see saw as a result of the Iranian attack attack on Israel was a regional security Alliance that was built to to um push back those rockets that were sent and missiles that were sent on Israel and this is an important component of any future Arrangement because what we need to think about is a regional architecture of security and stability and economic development I would not discount the importance of the recognition of the State of Palestine there are 139 countries out of the 193 member states of the UN that recognize the state of Palestine but most of the oecd countries have not and I think that what happened in the security Council last week with the US veto was was a directly against the interest of of the United States I think after 30 years of talking about a two-state solution it’s time to begin to make that two-state solution real and that happens by recognizing the state of Palestine granting it membership in the United Nations I would call for all the countries that don’t recognize the state of Israel to do the same and to support a two-state solution in that way that does not end the Israeli occupation over Palestine but it does change the parameters of the negotiations when they do get back to the table hopefully in a regional framework Nancy oyle you mentioned the pressure earlier on Egypt’s President from uh his own population over the fact that the war has dragged on so long yet uh not just Egypt and Jordan but the countries that recently normalized ties with Israel uh they they haven’t gone back on that well I mean let’s remember one thing that I mean the countries that had normalization with Israel were not at war with Israel to begin uh as opposed to other countries like for example like Egypt uh however any movement right now to either direction puts uh those presidents at risk uh of course I mean the there there is pressure uh from the people uh on uh the relationship and and revising and revisting the relationship of Arab states with uh W with Israel but at the same time uh let’s not forget that these are not particularly Democratic countries where you can easily change the course of um the direction of the presidency of course it represents a risk however I mean it’s not really in the same way that could change the the opinion in um in other countries or the direction in other countries although speaking of which I mean the United States supposedly is like this um Democratic country with stable institutions we are seeing a lot of violations and we’re seeing a lot of resistance to what people are uh are seeing if you just like uh G mentioned uh the ICC but also it’s not just the ICC it’s the IC the NC the Protestant on campuses we just heard some news that Germany might be also suspending arms to Israel yet to be confirmed so all this is like creating a global pressure uh that includes both the Arab leaders and European leaders and uh and the US so um and it’s not getting better is the that we are seeing right now 40,000 uh death in Gaza and even if the war stops right now or there’s like a A cation of hostilities the summer is coming and given that uh the social system in Gaza have been like broken and that increases contamination which even increases more with uh with the heat and that’s going to create a a a a catastrophic disease spread in contamination and More Death even if the fighting stops the world is watching that and all populations not just the Arab population and we’re seeing the solidarities across campuses in the United States and elsewhere in the world let’s talk about that let’s talk about that because while Gaza Burns Washington’s military support for Israel is tearing apart Joe Biden’s base in this an election year in the United States here you see images overnight of students who occupied Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall this is on the main uh New York City uh Campus of for them now gersan Basin Iris mockler and I were uh speaking with uh former State Department official Aaron David Miller on Monday and he warns that if the third parties like Egypt like the United States are feeling the heat well that could be a recipe for the likes of Israel and Hamas to harden their positions not soften them when it comes to these negotiations your thoughts it might be right I mean there’s no way of knowing right now it seems to me that it might go the other way in fact um this war needs to come to an end it it’s very question whether or not in fact it’s not questionable Israel cannot achieve the military effort of destroying Hamas Hamas will not be destroyed militarily it can only be destroyed politically that’s by offering the Palestinian people freedom and Liberation and hope um Palestinians need to know that if they are going to get freedom and Liberation Israel has to get security this is the equation here Israelis won’t have security if Palestinians don’t have hope in Liberation Palestinians won’t have hope in Liberation if Israelis don’t have is security and and this is the way that the entire world we all need to push these two sides forward we need to push the Israeli government to recognize that they need to put a political plan on the table and Hamas has to know that it is not going to continue to control Gaz I think they know this already there are talks going on between the various Palestinian factions and personalities on what will replace Hamas in Gaza as I said before this needs to be the final battle so but gersan just let me ask you cuz after the Oslo Accords in the early ’90s um it just dragged on and then it started to fall apart and then it did fall apart it was a matter of years uh and are you’re saying that now we have a possibility of suddenly uh going from what is right now a horrible situation to an actual peace deal look we need to recognize that whereas most of the international Community used to say the Israelis and the Palestinians have to want it more than us that’s no longer the reality here this conflict has gone be beyond the borders of Israel and Palestine it affects the security of the region it affects global Shipping it can expand into a regional and global war it is not just the concern of Israelis and Palestinians anymore it is an international concern and it has to be based on Regional changes that will take place we have the opportunity for those changes both because of the Saudi position and its desire to have their security alignment with the United States and normalization with Israel the price for Israel is going to have to be to recognize the Palestinian right to self-determination no more 30 years about talking about a solution let’s not forget also that the ocelo process also failed because the Israeli Prime Minister was assassinated by someone from within our own Society who was against this process from taking place we have radicals on both sides of this conflict who will seek to destroy it and we need to stand firm and maintain the decision that we must move forward into a in light of all that Gerson is there a reluctant Warrior like Yak Rabin who can step forward it does that exist it doesn’t exist right now as we see on the Israeli political Arena but there are going to be a new generation of leaders in Israel and in Palestine around the region who are going to stand up and and begin to look forward and not only backwards we won’t forget what they did to us we will always remember it’s part of our narrative but we need our Young Generation our young people to begin to look forward and say this can’t go on 7 million Israeli Jews 7 million Palestinian Arabs living between the river and the Sea who are not going anywhere we have to figure this out Nicholas Wescott uh your thoughts sitting by the banks of the river temps of what’s going on uh in the United States the UK is headed towards a general election and we saw that the labor party even though it’s uh slated for a big win tore itself apart a few years back over domestic issues when it came to anti-Semitism uh are you feeling a similar kind of divisive Vibe when it comes to S months of war in Gaza uh is that being felt in the UK on campuses for instance the situation is not as bad as in the US here but it does remain a sensitive political issue for both the conservative and the labor party as you said the labor party had a serious problem with internal anti-Semitism against which Kia starma has set his face and has taken perhaps a more pro-israeli position than he might otherwise have done to demonstrate that the labor party is no longer anti-semitic in any way but when should he come into power he will have to deal with the realities on the ground and what G Sean has said is absolutely true uh there are uh 14 million people living in that space they have to find a way to live peacefully together it won’t happen under the existing leadership of Hamas nor of the Israeli government so there has to be a change of leadership on both sides and the International Community will have to help that happen Provide support for a potential solution uh to ensure that the maximum pressure is bought on both sides to find a peaceful solution not a military one and that will face whatever government comes to power after our elections here and they need to play a constructive role not a partisan role in uh supporting a peace process Iris moer you heard gersan stating that uh it is going to take U outside pressure uh but is public opinion uh moving or is it just impossible to gauge it really as long as the fighting continues I think it is very hard to gauge as long as the fighting continues and as long as the hostages are still held in Gaza in a way that doesn’t let Israelis get over uh their horrendous attack of October the 7th it stays alive because those people were taken from their homes uh and filmed you know the only evidence that we have really of it is actually the GoPro cameras of the Hamas operatives themselves and that’s a wound that doesn’t heal here and I don’t think will heal until the hostages are returned so if you look a few months down the line let’s say this hostage deal does somehow or some version of it does take place and there’s a ceasefire and there’s an international reassessment um I was interested in what gersan said about the impact of and and um the the Iranian impact and I guess in that one night of the Iranian attack a new alliance was born in a way so isra actually has to pay attention to that and that’s what Anthony blinkin has been saying in Saudi Arabia and that’s what he’s coming here to say as well to dangle a diplomatic opportunity to dangle perhaps a recognition from sou um from Saudi Arabia in front of Israel and in front of a prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has worked towards this for years so can he say yes can he say no uh all of those things are here together to push this public to a new place because the old place is becoming unbelivable Iris mocker in Jerusalem many thanks I want to thank as well Gerson Baskin Nancy oyle for joining us from Washington Nicholas Wescott in London thank you for being with us here in the France 24 debate [Music]

For the first time since November, could there finally be a respite in Gaza? As warring parties and negotatiors shuttle through Cairo, we try to see through the smokescreens and the mixed messages if the stars are truly aligning. Beyond a swap of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, it’s tough at face value to comprehend indirect talks between two sides whose official line is the elimination of the other. The US Secretary of State has hinted at a grand bargain from which a truce graduates into a full-blown rewrite of 75 years of Israeli-Palestinian relations.
#Gaza #Truce #Netanyahu

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