Israel’s ceasefire deal with Hamas is promising news — for the surviving people who live in Gaza, for hostages, and for Israel, which could receive a respite from warfare on various fronts while getting hostages back. That is presumably one of the reasons its leaders accepted terms they previously resisted, including an eventual full withdrawal of its military from Gaza and a stated goal of making the ceasefire permanent through execution of its three phases.
A ceasefire is less important to the United States, but still a good thing. US forces are now less likely to be dragged into a war by Israel’s actions, especially with Iran. And since the war in Gaza animated Houthi attacks on shipping, its end could stop that, and by extension the failed little US war in Yemen.
But whatever President Joe Biden says, he does not deserve credit. It’s true the ceasefire reflects his administration’s stated aim, and much labour by US diplomats. But the deal’s arrival only at the end of Biden’s term — and only when his successor endorsed it — shows how feckless his policy on Gaza was, even how counterproductive it was to peace.
President-elect Donald Trump is of course taking credit for the deal, and he even may deserve some of it. It’s true that his policy on a ceasefire appears to be like Biden’s long failed approach — tell Israel to do a deal to end the fighting, but attach no consequences for not doing so. But the same demand Biden made, coming from Trump, apparently resonated differently with Benjamin Netanyahu.
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