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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/02/05/the-paris-proposal-is-an-israeli-proposal-in-contradiction-with-the-demands-of-the-resistance/">peoplesdispatch.org</a>
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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">“The Paris proposal is an Israeli proposal in contradiction with the demands of the resistance” <br></h1>
<a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/02/05/the-paris-proposal-is-an-israeli-proposal-in-contradiction-with-the-demands-of-the-resistance/">February 05, 2024</a> by <a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/02/05/the-paris-proposal-is-an-israeli-proposal-in-contradiction-with-the-demands-of-the-resistance/"></a><a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/author/zoe/">Zoe Alexandra</a>
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<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><img src="cid:ii_ls9mgaei0" alt="Netanyahu-Blinken-1024x576.jpg" width="416" height="234"><br><p>Secretary
of State Antony J. Blinken meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin
Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, Israel, January 9, 2024. Photo: State Department
</p><div>
<p>In the last weekend of January, intelligence officials from Israel,
the United States, and Egypt, along with Qatari authorities met in
Paris, France, to discuss a proposal for a truce between Israel and the
Palestinian resistance.</p>
<p>The possibility of a pause in Israel’s non-stop bombing of Gaza,
which in the past four months has killed over 27,000 people, including
10,000 children, has been met with cautious optimism by many who have
watched Israel carry out innumerable atrocities, with what seems like
complete impunity.</p>
<p>However, a deeper look at the details of the proposal paints a much
less optimistic picture. As contradictory news reports emerge of the
proposal and its future, it is crucial to understand what is on the
table and what implications it has for the people of Palestine.</p>
<h3><b>The proposal</b></h3>
<p>The Paris proposal is not a ceasefire agreement, but a humanitarian pause broken into three phases.</p>
<p>The first phase would see a 45-day pause in all hostilities along
with the release of all Israeli hostages in Gaza who are under the age
of 19 or wounded, in exchange for an agreed-upon number of Palestinian
prisoners.</p>
<p>The number of days of the pause in the second phase has not been
determined, but it envisages the release of Israeli military personnel,
in exchange for an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners, and an
increase in the amount of aid flowing into Gaza. According to a report
in <a href="https://al-akhbar.com/Palestine/375945"><i>Al Akbar</i></a>,
there has also been talk of the second phase including the withdrawal
of Israeli forces from dense residential areas, the creation of a no-fly
zone in Gaza, and a guarantee for the return of displaced Palestinians
in Rafah to Northern Gaza and Gaza city.</p>
<p>The focus of the third phase is to be on the exchange of bodies of
the dead for the release of more Palestinian prisoners. This phase would
also include a provision to begin dialogue to potentially reach a
permanent ceasefire.</p>
<h3><b>Apprehensions</b></h3>
<p>The Paris proposal has been met with apprehension from people across
Palestine and supporters of the Palestinian cause. Mahmoud*, a
Palestinian left leader told me, “First and foremost, we have to name
(sic) that the Paris proposal is an Israeli proposal in contradiction
with the demands of the resistance.”</p>
<p>The demands which have been outlined by Hamas spokespersons over the
past four months and ratified by the other Palestinian resistance
factions, have been completely disregarded in this proposal. The most
essential of these are a permanent end to the Israeli aggression in
Gaza, the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the lifting of
the 18-year siege on Gaza, and for the unlimited entry of aid, including
for the enclave’s rebuilding. Following the fulfillment of these
demands, they call for a negotiation for the “all for all” prisoners
swap.</p>
<p>For Mahmoud, not only are these demands not addressed in the proposal
or left undefined, as is the case with the entry of aid and the number
of Palestinian prisoners to be released in each phase, but some of the
terms would actually see Israel “trying to achieve politically and
diplomatically, what they couldn’t achieve militarily.”</p>
<p>For instance, while the agreement would possibly provide for the
withdrawal of Israeli forces from major roads and urban areas, they
would remain in other areas. “This means that they’re going to maintain
control over positions inside the Gaza Strip that they plan to turn into
a buffer zone,” Mahmoud explained.</p>
<p>He emphasized, “This proposal would be a huge loss for the
Palestinian people. Four months of fighting, the killing of more than
30,000 people, and the destruction of tens of thousands of homes and
infrastructure to just reach a temporary ceasefire without freeing the
prisoners, or changing or improving the conditions that Palestinians
lived under prior to October 7 — I don’t think that such an agreement
would be accepted by the majority of the Palestinian parties or people,
and it will be met with resistance.”</p>
<h3><b>Israel faces pressure</b></h3>
<p>Netanyahu’s war cabinet is currently reviewing the proposal to
determine some of the undefined provisions and the future of its war on
Gaza. Meanwhile, Israeli officials have had varying responses to their
own proposal, with some far-right ministers publicly rejecting it and
for that matter, any pause in the country’s military campaign.</p>
<p>The reality is that Israel is facing a tremendous amount of pressure
to end its genocidal war. At the international level, more and more
world leaders are joining humanitarian organizations and the United
Nations in condemning Israel and calling for an immediate ceasefire.
Israel is also facing regional pressure, as Yemeni, Lebanese, and Iraqi
resistance groups have been launching different types of operations
against it in solidarity with the Palestinian people. The regional
dynamic of the war is likely to escalate with the United States
conducting retaliatory strikes against these groups.</p>
<p>While Netanyahu and other ministers are defiant in the face of the
ruling of the International Court of Justice and resolutions of the
United Nations calling for a ceasefire, the Israeli government also
faces significant challenges domestically. A key source of pressure are
the families of the hostages who have demanded that Netanyahu’s
government reach a prisoner exchange deal at any cost.</p>
<p>Added to this is the fact that despite the destruction and bloodshed
which it has unleashed, Israel has still failed to achieve its military
objectives in Gaza — the complete destruction of the resistance and
infrastructure, and the return of the hostages without negotiations and
through a military operation.</p>
<p>“Four months later, they haven’t realized any of these goals and
their forces are exhausted,” Mahmoud told me. He explained, “All of
these reasons are pushing the Israelis through allies to actually engage
in dialogue and reach an agreement that would enable them to be
victorious at a certain level. Whatever they couldn’t achieve through
the military operation, they are now trying to achieve through political
avenues.”</p>
<p>Pressure from the United States, Israel’s biggest political and
financial backer, to end fighting in Gaza, is also a significant part of
the calculation. Joe Biden’s administration has been under heavy
criticism from broad sections of society, including traditional
supporters of the Democratic Party, for its stubborn support to Israel.
Many analysts predict that Biden’s response to the genocide in Gaza
could even cost him reelection in November.</p>
<p>On January 29, just a day after the Paris proposal was first drafted,
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during a joint press conference
with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, said, “I believe the
[Paris] proposal is a strong one and a compelling one that, again,
offers some hope that we can get back to this process. But Hamas will
have to make its own decisions.”</p>
<h3><b>What’s next?</b></h3>
<p>The Paris proposal is still being reviewed and discussed by both
parties and it is likely that in the coming days, they will make
announcements regarding the viability and future of the document. As US
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit the region and <a href="https://www.state.gov/secretary-blinkens-call-with-saudi-foreign-minister-prince-faisal-bin-farhan-al-saud-11/">has</a>
“reiterated the importance of securing a humanitarian pause that
includes the release of hostages held by Hamas,” it is likely there will
be increased pressure for some version of this proposal to move
forward.</p>
<p>However, as Mahmoud stated firmly, “Palestinians are not going to
accept any truce if it doesn’t ensure the ending of the siege, if it
doesn’t ensure the freedom of our political prisoners, and bettering the
conditions inside of Gaza. People on the ground in Gaza and Palestine
and the Arab region will not celebrate such a deal that is only about a
temporary ceasefire without the [fulfillment of] other demands that the
resistance and the Palestinian people rallied behind since the beginning
of this battle.”</p>
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