U.S. – Israel August 2024 –

Palestinians must have right of self-determination, says Kamala Harris
(The Telegraph UK) Kamala Harris pledged to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and chart a “new way forward” as president in her closing speech to the Democratic convention on Thursday night.
In an address designed to tackle her political vulnerabilities head on, the US vice president vowed to deliver strong leadership on immigration and foreign policy.

3 September
Thomas Friedman: How Netanyahu Is Trying to Save Himself, Elect Trump and Defeat Harris
If President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris needed any reminder that Benjamin Netanyahu is not their friend, not America’s friend and, most shamefully, not the friend of the Israeli hostages in Gaza, the murder by Hamas of six Israeli souls while Netanyahu dragged out negotiations should make that clear. Netanyahu has one interest: his own immediate political survival, even if it undermines Israel’s long-term survival. …
In his phone calls, Netanyahu has been whispering to America’s leaders in English that he is interested in a cease-fire and a hostage deal and is considering the necessary precursors for what I call the Biden Doctrine. But as soon as he hangs up, in Hebrew, he says things to his base that expressly contradict the Biden Doctrine, because it threatens the Bibi Doctrine.
So, what is the Biden Doctrine, and what is the Bibi Doctrine, and why do they matter?
[31 January
A Biden Doctrine for the Middle East Is Forming. And It’s Big.]
…the Bibi Doctrine…centers on doing everything possible to avoid any political process with the Palestinians that may require a territorial compromise in the West Bank that would break Netanyahu’s political alliance with the Israeli far right.
To that end, Bibi has made sure for years that Palestinians remain divided and unable to have a unified position. He ensured that Hamas remained a viable governing entity in Gaza by, among other things, arranging for Qatar to send Hamas more than $1 billion for humanitarian aid, fuel and government salaries from 2012 to 2018. At the same time, Netanyahu did everything he could to discredit and humiliate the Palestinian Authority and its president, Mahmoud Abbas, who has recognized Israel, embraced the Oslo peace process and partnered with Israel’s security services to try to keep the peace in the West Bank for nearly three decades.

28 August
US imposes sanctions on extremist Israeli settlers in West Bank
Targeting of government-funded group active in Hebron hills brings punitive measures closer to Israeli cabinet
The US has announced new sanctions against extremist settlers in the West Bank who are funded by the Israeli government, as Washington steps up its attempt to rein in worsening settler violence.
The new measures drew a sharp response from the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, whose office said it viewed them “with utmost severity” and that the issue was under “pointed discussion” with Washington.
The sanctions target one organisation and one individual with long involvement in the intimidation of Palestinians with the aim of seizing their land. The US Treasury has made them “specially designated nationals”, which means their assets are blocked and US citizens and companies are prohibited from dealing with them.

23 August
What’s blocking a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza?
After rejecting the idea for months, US officials are now arguing that a ceasefire agreement should be signed.
(Al Jazeera) US officials estimate that Israel has achieved all it can militarily in the Gaza Strip, but Israel’s leadership is divided on ending the war, argues Joost Hiltermann, the programme director for the Middle East at the International Crisis Group.
Hiltermann tells host Steve Clemons that Israel’s military believes Hamas has been weakened enough for now, while its politicians argue that the war should be open-ended, allowing for a resumption after Israeli captives are released.
The question remains: is the United States content to allow the internal Israeli debate to run its course, even if that means endless war on Gaza?

18-21 August
Biden speaks with Netanyahu as US prods Israel and Hamas to come to agreement on cease-fire deal
(AP) Hamas and Israel have signaled that challenges remain amid significant differences over the presence of Israeli troops in two strategic corridors in Gaza and other issues, dimming Biden’s hopes that a deal can soon be reached. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is in Chicago this week to accept her party’s nomination at the Democratic National Convention, also joined the call.
Biden “stressed the urgency of bringing the ceasefire and hostage release deal to closure,” the White House said in a statement. The two leaders also discussed using high-level talks in Cairo this week between mediators from the U.S., Israel, Egypt and Qatar to work through “remaining obstacles” to an agreement.
But by Tuesday, Biden was notably more muted about the prospects of the two sides coming to an agreement soon. He told reporters after delivering an address at the Democratic convention that “Hamas was now backing off,” but that the U.S. is “going to keep pushing” to land a cease-fire deal.
The call came after Secretary of State Antony Blinken met this week with officials in Israel, Egypt, and Qatar and ahead of the new round of talks in Cairo later this week.
“This is a decisive moment, probably the best, maybe the last opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a ceasefire, and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security,” Blinken said after meeting with Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv on Monday.
Officials in Egypt told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Hamas won’t agree to the bridging proposal for a number of reasons — ones in addition to the long-held wariness over whether a deal would truly remove Israeli forces from Gaza and end the war.
Key mediator Egypt expresses skepticism about the Gaza cease-fire proposal as more details emerge
Key mediator Egypt expressed skepticism Wednesday about the proposal meant to bridge gaps in cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas as more details emerged a day before negotiations were expected to resume in Cairo.
The challenges around the so-called bridging proposal appeared to undermine the optimism for an imminent agreement that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken carried into his latest Mideast visit this week.
Diplomatic efforts have redoubled as fears grow of a wider regional war after the recent targeted killings of leaders of the militant Hamas and Hezbollah groups, both blamed on Israel, and threats of retaliation.
Blinken says Israel OKs a plan to break the cease-fire impasse and urges Hamas to do the same
(AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that Israel has accepted a proposal to bridge differences holding up a cease-fire and hostage release in Gaza, and he called on Hamas to do the same, without saying whether concerns cited by the militant group had been addressed.
The high-stakes negotiations have gained urgency in recent days as diplomats hope an agreement will deter Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah from avenging the targeted killings of two top militants that were blamed on Israel. The escalating tensions have raised fears of an even more destructive regional war.
Blinken spoke after holding a 2 1/2 hour meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the day, and will travel to Egypt and Qatar for further negotiations. The three mediators have spent months trying to end the war in Gaza, with the talks repeatedly stalling.
… He added, however, that even if Hamas accepts the proposal, negotiators will spend the coming days working on “clear understandings on implementing the agreement.” He said there are still “complex issues” requiring “hard decisions by the leaders,” without offering specifics.
Hamas has said it is losing faith in the U.S. as a mediator, accusing American negotiators of siding with Israel as it makes new demands that the militant group rejects. Blinken did not say whether the proposal addressed Israel’s demand for control over two strategic corridors inside Gaza — which Hamas has said is a nonstarter — or other issues that have long bedeviled the negotiations.
Blinken warns Israel, Hamas of last chance to end Gaza war
By Humeyra Pamuk and Nidal Al-Mughrabi
‘Decisive moment, probably the best, maybe the last opportunity’
Negotiations to resume this week based on US ‘bridging proposal’
(Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on Monday that the latest push for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal was probably the best and possibly last opportunity, urging Israel and Hamas towards an elusive agreement. …
Months of on-off talks have circled the same issues, with Israel saying the war can only end with the destruction of Hamas as a military and political force and Hamas saying it will only accept a permanent, and not a temporary, ceasefire.
There are disagreements over Israel’s continued military presence inside Gaza, particularly along the border with Egypt, over the free movement of Palestinians inside the territory, and over the identity and number of prisoners to be freed in a swap.

Blinken visits Israel, but Hamas, Netanyahu far apart on Gaza truce
US, Qatar, Egypt are mediating to secure a ceasefire and captive swap deal as the death toll in Gaza rises to more than 40,000.
(Al Jazeera) Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Sunday, days after the US put forward proposals that it and mediators Qatar and Egypt believe would close gaps between Israel and Hamas.

16 August
U.S. puts new proposal on table to try to close Gaza deal gaps
(Axios) The U.S. presented a new bridging proposal to Israel and Hamas on Friday in an effort to close the remaining gaps in the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, the U.S., Qatar and Egypt said in a joint statement.
The U.S. with support from Egypt and Qatar, presented to both parties a bridging proposal that is consistent with the principles laid out by President Biden on May 31, 2024 and Security Council Resolution No. 2735,” they said.
“This proposal builds on areas of agreement over the past week, and bridges remaining gaps in the manner that allows for a swift implementation of the deal.”
A source with knowledge of the talks told Axios: “We got more progress over the last two days than the last six weeks combined.”

Max Boot: Biden’s failure to hold Netanyahu to account creates a moral hazard
Netanyahu acts recklessly, as war risks rise, confident of Biden’s backing
In economics, “moral hazard” is a term for what happens when one party has an incentive to engage in risky behavior because some other actor will protect it from the consequences of its own actions. We are now seeing how moral hazard works in the Israel-U.S. alliance as the Middle East stands poised on the brink of a major conflict between Israel and Iran.
Clearly neither Iran nor Israel is eager for a full-blown war. Why is that possibility looming again?
… With the possibility of another war threatening to break out, President Joe Biden has scrambled the U.S. military to deter an Iranian attack and to defend Israel should it occur. The United States has deployed a formidable naval and air armada to the region, including an aircraft carrier strike group and an amphibious assault ship, along with multiple destroyers and at least one guided-missile submarine. The massive U.S. response has at least made the mullahs think hard about how they will respond to Israel’s assassinations to avoid a war with Washington.