Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyagu of Israel has been put on the spot by President Biden’s announcement outlining a proposal for a truce. Netanyahu had previously refused to offer a timeline for ending the war for the past few months. Biden outlined broad terms which were presented by Israel to the American, Qatari, and Egyptian mediators who were pushing for a deal to stop the fighting and free hostages in Gaza. Israeli officials confirmed that the terms presented by Biden matched a cease-fire proposal which was approved by Israel’s war cabinet. However, the terms had not yet been presented to the Israeli public. Leaders within the coalition have differing opinions on the cease-fire, with the two far right parties pledging to bring down Netanyahu’s government if he agrees to the deal outlined by Biden before fully destroying Hamas. However, other members have threatened to withdraw the support of their centrist National Unity party by June 8 if Netanyahu fails to come up with a clear path forward. The cease-fire proposal involves three phases. First, hostages would be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. Then, the temporary cease-fire would evolve into a permanent halt of the war, and lastly, the international community would support the rebuilding of Gaza.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/02/world/middleeast/netanyahu-biden-truce-proposal.html