All eyes and spotlights have been on Syria since Bashar Al Assad’s regime collapsed on December 8, giving way to an uncertain political transition led by an amalgam of armed groups led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), born from what was the arm of Al Qaeda in this country.
The international community is concerned about what may happen in Syria and is busy establishing contacts with the new authorities in Damascus and situating itself in the new Syrian scenario, in which many interests compete and in which Turkey has taken the lead.
Meanwhile, the war in Gaza continues, like a background noise to which we have become accustomed and, as the weeks and months go by (more than 14 months now, in which more than 45,000 Palestinians have died), less is heard. There are calls for a ceasefire and fewer efforts and pressures are being made to achieve it at the international level.
Last week, the United Nations General Assembly approved with an overwhelming majority – only nine countries voted against – a resolution that demanded “an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, as well as the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages”, but the request once again fell on deaf ears.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to the Middle East again last weekend, but developments in Syria overshadowed talks on Gaza, beyond official statements. In addition, the Administration that Blinken represents will leave the White House in a month and it will be occupied by President-elect Donald Trump, with his promise to end the wars, including the one in Gaza.
Trump’s imminent arrival
Trump has tasked his team with reaching an agreement for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas before his inauguration on January 20 – otherwise, he has threatened serious repercussions in the Middle East and for those who “have perpetrated these atrocities against humanity” – although today it seems unlikely that this will happen. The president-elect’s special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, traveled to Israel and Qatar in late November to engage with the two sides: Israel as the belligerent party and Qatar as a mediator and facilitator of indirect contacts with the Islamist group Hamas.
Precisely, Hamas is in a greater hurry than ever to reach an agreement before Trump’s return to power, aware that the president will not be benevolent and has already unequivocally shown its support for Israel with the appointment of several markedly pro-Israeli positions in his administration. and Zionists. On the other hand, it is believed that the new president could exert more pressure on the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to accept an agreement, but not conditions imposed by Hamas or that are considered minimally favorable to the Islamist movement.
Currently, the parties continue to negotiate on a proposal from President Joe Biden last May, which established several phases. In the first, lasting six weeks, there would be a “total and complete ceasefire,” accompanied by the “withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza,” as Washington detailed at the time. Hamas would release the “women, elderly people and wounded” who remain captive in Gaza, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. One of the obstacles is precisely agreeing on a list of Palestinians that Israel is willing to release and a list of hostages, since not all of them are in the hands of Hamas but of other Palestinian groups and, as of today, there is no certainty. of how many are still alive.
In a second phase, all the hostages would be released, including the Israeli soldiers, in exchange for other Palestinian prisoners; The truce would become a permanent cessation of hostilities and Israel would have to withdraw from the entire coastal enclave, something that the Netanyahu Government has made clear – with statements and actions – that it is not willing to do.
According to sources cited by the Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post, Hamas has asked for guarantees regarding the ceasefire because it fears that, when Trump takes office, Netanyahu will obtain his approval to resume the offensive in Gaza, at the end of the first six-week phase. Two well-informed official sources have assured that media that there is “significant progress” in the negotiations and that an agreement can be reached “in a month” – just before Trump takes office.
For his part, Israeli columnist Amos Harel has urged caution when talking about progress in the negotiations. In an analysis published this Wednesday in the leftist newspaper Haaretzexplained that “everyone involved knows that Netanyahu wants to restart the war and that he has no intention of completing the second phase.” [del acuerdo]which entails a total withdrawal from Gaza.” However, “the mediators have assured Hamas that, as soon as Israel accepts an agreement, it will be difficult for the Government to renege on phase two, both due to pressure from the United States and local pressure from the United States.” the families of the hostages.”
External pressure and in Israel
Precisely, the Forum of the families of the hostages is mobilizing in the face of what appears to be an opportunity to reach an agreement to exchange those kidnapped for Palestinian prisoners, within the framework of a ceasefire. Apart from the mobilizations in the streets, which have not ceased throughout the year with more or less participation, these days the Forum has organized several events to draw the attention of the international community. This Wednesday, Michael Levy, brother of one of those kidnapped at the Nova music festival in southern Israel, spoke before the UN Security Council, where he attacked the powerful of the world: “Your silence is deafening! Your inaction is suffocating!”
In Israel, hundreds of students from about 200 schools across the country protested this Wednesday to demand an agreement with Hamas that would allow the release of the hostages, the EFE Agency reported. This is an initiative of the student councils, which also coincides with the 25th birthday of the hostage Matan Zangauker who, on December 8, appeared in one of the videos that Hamas publishes from time to time through its propaganda channels.
On Tuesday, the girlfriend of Israeli hostage Matan Zangauker, Ilana Gritzewsky – who was also kidnapped between October and November 2023, and was released thanks to the only exchange agreement between Hamas and Israel in late November of that year – appealed directly to Trump, from what is known as Hostage Square in Tel Aviv. “President Trump, you are a leader who knows how to win, how to turn the tide when all hope seems lost. Now is the time to prove it. One hundred hostages (men, women and children) are still held in the depths of hell. My partner, my friends, and countless innocent lives are being consumed while the world remains silent. This is your chance to change history: intervene. End this war. Bring the hostages home. Without words, without promises, only with actions,” he said, according to a statement released by the Forum.
Pressure from the hostages’ relatives has not made Netanyahu accept an agreement with Hamas so far, but this group hopes that things can change with the arrival of Trump. Netanyahu himself hopes that things will change, but in his favor, in the West Bank and on other fronts where his far-right government intends to expand the illegal occupation and the Israeli presence. On Tuesday, the prime minister visited Syrian territory for the first time since Al Assad’s departure on December 8. From the Syrian side of Mount Hermon – located in the demilitarized zone of the Golan Heights occupied by Israel since 1967 – he stated that his troops will remain in that territory “until another agreement guarantees the security” of Israel. Netanyahu considers that the separation agreement with Syria is no longer valid after the fall of the Al Assad regime, with whom he sealed that pact sponsored by the United Nations in 1974.
From Qatar – a country that plays the role of mediator and offers a place for indirect negotiations between the parties – the Government confirmed this month that it is already working with Trump’s team on Gaza, while continuing its collaboration with the Administration outgoing Biden. About ten days ago, the spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, Majed Al Ansari, told a group of media in Doha – among which was elDiario.es – that there was “a momentum” in the negotiations to stop the war in the Strip.
Qatar resumed contacts with the parties this December, after suspending its mediation in mid-November due to the lack of “seriousness” of Israel and Hamas. It was even rumored that the Qatari authorities had asked the Islamists to leave Doha, but the Hamas office in this capital has not been closed and its representatives are in the country.
Despite the fact that the Qatari government has relaunched the talks, Al Ansari lamented that Qatar had not yet seen “real seriousness” on the part of Israel and Hamas, but that his negotiating team considered that the conditions were in place to get involved again. “We need the two sides to make concessions, we need the previous positions to soften a little so that we can move forward with the talks,” Al Ansari said.
Source: www.eldiario.es
