Even as Hamas and the Israeli government appear to be inching closer to a cease-fire agreement, analysts are deeply skeptical that the sides will ever implement a deal that goes beyond a temporary truce.
But making it to that finish line is impossible if the parties are unwilling to even start the race or to agree on where it should end.
Fundamentally, the wrangling is not just about the how long a cease-fire in Gaza should last or at what point it should be implemented, but whether Israel can ever accept a long-term truce as long as Hamas retains significant control.
For Israel to agree to Hamas’s demands for a permanent cease-fire from the start, it must acknowledge that Hamas will remain undestroyed and will play a role in the territory’s future, conditions Israel’s government cannot abide.
On the flip side, Hamas says it won’t consider a temporary cease-fire without the guarantees of a permanent one that effectively ensures its survival, even at the cost of countless more Palestinian lives, lest Israel restart the war once its hostages are returned.
Persons:
won’t
Locations:
Israel, United States, Gaza