NEW YORK, Sept 20 - Israel and the Palestinian radical movement Hamas are unlikely to conclude a ceasefire agreement before the expiration of current US President Joe Biden's term, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, citing senior US officials.
"No deal is imminent," the paper quoted an official as saying. "I'm not sure it will ever be closed."
According to the report, the parties are "in a holding pattern" until the upcoming US presidential election.
The newspaper also reported that the negotiators, in particular, were unable to agree on the proportion of Palestinian prisoners that Israel would have to release in order for Hamas to release one Israeli hostage. Second, the recent series of pager explosions in Lebanon and subsequent Israeli airstrikes have increased the likelihood of all-out war in the Middle East and therefore made diplomatic contacts with HAMÁS more difficult.
Another obstacle, according to the paper's sources, is the "intrusiveness" of the Palestinian movement. According to WSJ sources, Hamas makes demands and then refuses to say "yes" after the US and Israel accept them. As a result, negotiators increasingly feel that the movement has no serious plans for a deal.
The newspaper points out that failure could damage Biden's presidential legacy, so the ceasefire agreement remains a cornerstone of his administration's Middle East policy. Washington believes it would calm tensions in the region and pave the way for the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Tensions in the Middle East flared again on 7 October 2023, when gunmen from the radical Palestinian Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip launched a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 240 hostages, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of the Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City. In response, Israel has declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, where 2.3 million Palestinians lived before the crisis, and has launched air strikes on Gaza as well as parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes have also been reported in the West Bank.
According to Israeli authorities, Hamas is still holding about 100 people hostage.
TASS/ gnews - RoZ_07
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