Israel-Hamas war, Gaza genocide

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Israeli government has ‘no incentive’ to see ceasefire deal through – Marwan Bishara

Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara says that, in contrast to the Israeli government, Hamas has compelling reasons to support the continuation of the ceasefire past the first phase.

Bishara says Hamas has an interest in progressing to phases two and three of the deal, which could potentially involve discussions on Gaza’s reconstruction and the future of a Palestinian state.

Critically, Israel has insisted it will give no written guarantees ruling out a resumption of its attacks on Gaza once the first phase is complete and its civilian captives returned.


Biden says Netanyahu needs to ‘accommodate legitimate concerns’ of Palestinians

The outgoing US president said that his “friend” Netanyahu “has to find a way to accommodate the legitimate concerns” of Palestinians for Israel’s long-term stability.

“The idea that Israel is going to be able to sustain itself for the long term without accommodating the Palestinian question … It’s not going to happen,” Biden told MSNBC.

“And I kept reminding my friend, and he is a friend, although we don’t agree a whole lot lately, Bibi Netanyahu, that he has to find a way to accommodate the legitimate concerns of a large group of people called Palestinians, who have no place to live independently,” he said.

Trump calls Biden ‘ungracious’ for taking credit for Gaza ceasefire deal: Report

US President-elect Donald Trump has claimed full credit for the Gaza ceasefire deal, saying it would never have been reached without pressure from him and his incoming administration.

“If we weren’t involved in this deal, the deal would’ve never happened,” Trump said, according to a report by the AFP news agency. “We changed the course of it, and we changed it fast, and frankly, it better be done before I take the oath of office,” he said.

Trump made the comments during a television appearance where he accused President Biden of being “ungracious” for claiming credit for the deal. “He didn’t do anything!” Trump said. “If I didn’t do this, if we didn’t get involved, the hostages would never be out,” he said.


G7 calls Gaza ceasefire a ‘significant development’, calls for full implementation

Leaders of the Group of Seven advanced economies (G7) have labelled the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas a “significant development”, and urged all parties to work on its “full implementation”.

In a statement, the G7 – comprised of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US – urged “all parties to engage constructively” in its next phases of talks “to help ensure its full implementation and a permanent end to hostilities”.

“With a ceasefire soon to take hold, it is also crucial that we seize this opportunity to put an end to the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, where conditions continue to deteriorate,” the statement said.

‘You should be ashamed of yourself’: Israeli captive families to ADL chief

The families of Israeli captives held in Gaza have lashed the head of a US-based organisation that campaigns against anti-Semitism for a failure to actively push for a ceasefire deal.

The online exchange took place when Jonathan Greenblatt, a US businessman and CEO of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), sought to promote an interview he participated in following the announcement of the ceasefire agreement on Thursday.

Speaking through the official social media account for Israeli captives, the families responded to the interview by accusing Greenblatt of failing to confront Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in support of a ceasefire.

“You should have called out and gotten tough on Netanyahu months ago like we asked you,” the group said. “Still now you can’t do it.” “[Donald Trump] did more to get this deal done than you ever have,” the group said. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”

The ADL has been prominent in encouraging crackdowns against pro-Palestinian protests across the US.