NEW (Sorta): Hamas Claims to Accept Witkoff Cease-Fire ‘Framework’

Doesn’t this sound like a rerun of the last round of Hamas Hokey Pokey? Announce agreement to terms not offered, claim to have made concessions, and then blame the Israelis when the deal doesn’t exist?

That’s what it’s all about:

The agreement includes the release of “ten Israeli captives and a number of bodies, in exchange for an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners, under the guarantee of the mediators.”

The terrorist organization said the framework would achieve “a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, the flow of humanitarian aid, and the formation of a professional committee to manage the affairs of Gaza upon the announcement of the agreement.”

Recall a very similar statement on Monday, and the quick collapse of that claim. Like this declaration, it includes two conditions that the Israelis simply will never accept from Hamas — a “permanent cease-fire” and “a complete withdrawal” from Gaza. The only part of this that’s new is the concession to form a “professional committee” to run Gaza, but that means Hamas will be in charge of its formation, which makes the technocratic option an illusion. 

This sounds more like a new proposal rather than an ‘acceptance’ of an existing offer. The Israelis are unlikely to accept it, especially with military momentum on their side and the political ground beginning to collapse under Hamas:

While the announcement is framed as a breakthrough, it still indicates that a number of issues need to be negotiated, such as the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released.

Moreover, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will only agree to a temporary ceasefire, and wants to retain the ability to resume fighting in Gaza.

The Witkoff proposal previously put to Israel does not require a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces.

Hamas still has some leverage in both military and political contexts. It still controls the tunnels in Gaza, or what’s left of them, which allows for mobility of forces in imposing authority on Gazans as well as operationally against the IDF. But even that is of limited value these days as the IDF turns the screws through its operations, demolishing tunnel systems and allowing for gaps in Hamas’ control. The Israelis can leverage those gaps with direct aid now, which a withdrawal will make impossible:

On the ground in Gaza, growing reports of hunger and hardship have eroded public support for Hamas. In some districts the group still enforces order by force, but in others Palestinians openly call for an end to the fighting. Israel has responded by piloting a new direct humanitarian-aid distribution model designed to bypass Hamas’s traditional role as arbiter of relief.

This is exactly how Israel can and hopefully will disengage Hamas control in Gaza. Does anyone think the Israelis will just hand all that back to Hamas with just the promise of a “professional committee” to front for the terrorists? Be serious. 

And at least for now, Witkoff does appear serious. Following the Monday round of the Hamas Hokey Pokey, Witkoff scolded the terrorist group for its attempted manipulations and demanded that they negotiate in good faith:

According to the Ynet news site, Witkoff and US hostage envoy Adam Boehler told a group of hostage families Monday that they were optimistic that progress could be made in the talks in the coming days.

However, a source directly involved in the negotiations told The Times of Israel on Monday that the talks remain stuck, adding that mediators have yet to come up with a framework for a temporary deal that allows Hamas to claim that it will lead to a permanent end to the war, while also allowing Israel to claim that it has not made an up-front commitment for a permanent ceasefire.

Foreign media had on Monday cited unnamed Hamas officials declaring that the group had accepted a deal proposed by Witkoff, who denied that the terror group had accepted his proposal, and called on it to agree to a temporary offer that he said Israel would accept. At a Jerusalem Day ceremony, Netanyahu called Hamas “stubborn” and said Witkoff agreed with him.

Hamas isn’t serious about giving up power. That’s why they are negotiating in the media rather than at the table. They can’t afford to give up the only leverage they have left if Israel won’t stop the war Hamas started. And time is now a real problem for Hamas — the longer this goes on, the more territory that the IDF will liberate from Hamas and peel back their grip on power one tentacle and tunnel at a time. Without assistance from Hezbollah and Iran and with the IDF controlling their usual lines of communication in the Philadelphi Corridor, the remnants of Hamas are doomed … unless they can manipulate the West into snatching their defeat from the jaws of Israel’s victory.