Biden tells Qatari emir to pressure Hamas for deal

Israeli officials concerned POTUS hasn’t imposed time limit on negotiations in second phase of deal, allowing Sinwar to prolong talks indefinitely; they warn that if Israel resumes fighting, it could be blamed for violating cease-fire

U.S. President Joe Biden urged Qatar’s emir on Monday to “use all appropriate measures” to secure Hamas’ acceptance of the ceasefire and hostage deal now on the table.

Biden and Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani “confirmed that the comprehensive ceasefire and hostage release deal now on the table offers a concrete roadmap for ending the crisis in Gaza,” the White House said. “The president confirmed Israel’s readiness to move forward with the terms that have now been offered to Hamas.”

Earlier the U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that Washington has not heard from Hamas but said there was a certainty that Israel will stand by its own proposal.

Miller spoke after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that Biden presented only a partial outline of the agreed proposal to secure a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of the Israeli hostages. A claim rejected by U.S. National Security Spokesperson John Kirby.

However Israeli officials said there was disagreement between Netanyahu and the Americans over the details of the second phase of the deal.

“The sad conclusion is that Biden does not understand Sinwar. He promises there would be no resumption of fighting in the second phase what interest is there for the Hamas leader to accept the first stage?” the officials said. They insist that if there is no limit put on the time for negotiations before Israel can resume fire, it could lead to Sinwar dragging the negotiations, indefinitely.

“If we see Hamas dragging the talks we will resume the war, but the problem is that there is no agreement as to what dragging the talks means. In such a case, Israel would certainly be blamed for violating the cease-fire.”

The officials said that although Israel has not proposed an alternative rule to Hamas after the war, Biden too did not raise the matter and has not said definitively that Hamas would no longer rule the Strip.

As reported by Ynetnews