By P.K.Balachandran/Daily Mirror

Colombo, July 8 – Critical meetings are lined up this week between President Trump and Israeli PM Netanyahu in Washington and between the Israelis and the Hamas in Doha to end the Gaza war. But their positions are so divergent that all of America’s diplomatic abilities and coercive power will be needed to close the gap.

US President Donald Trump had claimed that Israel has agreed to a 60-day ceasefire. He had also asked the Hamas to do the same or face the consequences. But as both parties have set tough conditions, Trump’s diplomatic skills and America’s coercive power will be on test at the meetings slated to be held in Washington and Doha this week.   

President Trump and Israeli PM Netanyahu will be meeting in Washington, and delegations of the Israelis and the Hamas will be meeting in Doha (Qatar), in a bid to end the Gaza war raging non-stop since October 7 2023. Israel had killed over 57,000 Palestinians including 17,000 children in Gaza till March 2025. The slaughter is still on.

Trump’s Call 

President Trump declared that Israel had agreed “in principle” to a 60-day cease-fire/hostage-release deal. He then threatened Hamas that if it did not follow suit, it will have to bear the consequences.

“My Representatives had a long and productive meeting with the Israelis today on Gaza. Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War,” Trump posted on “Truth Social” following a White House meeting between senior US officials and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, the key confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The Qataris and Egyptians, who have worked very hard to help bring Peace, will deliver this final proposal. I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” Trump added.

Trump’s post came shortly after he said that he would be “very firm” with Israeli Premier Netanyahu during his Washington this week. Netanyahu, too, wanted the war to end, Trump added.

He told reporters that he was hopeful an Israel-Hamas truce would ‘happen sometime next week’ (meaning this week). Trump added there is a good chance a Gaza hostage release also.

Witkoff Plan

In Trump’s mind, a temporary cease-fire would be a foundation for a more permanent resolution that would allow an American “day-after” plan to manifest. Dubbed as “the Witkoff Plan,” after the US negotiator Steve Witkoff, it envisages the release of 10 living Israeli hostages and 15 deceased hostages first and the rest later.

According to the draft agreement with Hamas, 33 hostages are expected to be released in several stages over 42 days. On the first day, three captives are expected to be released. On the seventh day, four will be released; and three more will be released each week after until the 42nd day, when 14 will be released.

But still there will be captives with Hamas, although it is uncertain as to how many of them are alive.

Netanyahu Firm

Netanyahu said on Sunday that Hamas’ latest demands are not acceptable to Israel. Nevertheless, he dispatched a high-level negotiating team to Qatar for talks with it.

“Twenty living hostages remain and 30 who are fallen. I am determined, we are determined, to bring back all of them,” the Premier told reporters, as he prepared to board the Wing of Zion state plane for his journey to Washington.

He also said, “We are determined to ensure that Gaza will no longer constitute a threat to Israel. That means, we will not allow a situation that encourages more kidnappings, more murders, more beheadings, more invasions. And that means one thing, eliminating Hamas’s military and governing capabilities. Hamas will not be there.”

Asked whether there will be a hostage deal within the week, he said,  “We are working to reach this deal under the terms we have agreed to.”

Doves and Hawks in Israel  

Israel is now divided between hawks and doves. Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who is seen as a reconciler, told Prime Minister Netanyahu at a meeting with him last week, that he fully supports efforts to bring back the Israeli hostages, “even if the cost is heavy and painful.”

Interestingly, the Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir told the country’s cabinet that the defence forces “have achieved their objectives” in Gaza. This is taken by some as a signal heralding the arrival of a “deal”.

Therefore, much is expected from Netanyahu’s meeting US President Trump in Washington on Monday. The Israeli PM will be in on a five-day visit to Washington meeting officials, Congressmen and members of the Jewish community, besides Trump.

Netanyahu had publicly vowed to keep fighting in Gaza until Hamas is vanquished. And yet, he is reportedly working with Trump on a plan that would end the war, recommit Israel to a Two-State solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and normalize Israeli-Saudi and Israeli-Syrian relations.

Netanyahu has not confirmed any such plan. And on Wednesday he said that Israel’s aims of both defeating Hamas and freeing the hostages still stood.

“I am telling you, there will be no Hamas,” he said. “There will be no Hamastan. We are not going back to that. It is over. We will release all our hostages,” he thundered.

Under Pressure from Hawks

Netanyahu is under pressure from hardliners who are publicly opposing a Gaza agreement pushed by the US. And hostage families are demanding a “comprehensive deal” and not a partial deal with a phased release of the hostages. Partial deals that leave some behind is like the ‘selection’ at Nazi death camps in Germany and Poland during World War II, they say.

According to the neutral Israeli’s daily Haaretz, the Americans intend to make it clear that the war must end in order to save the remaining hostages held by Hamas and that Hamas could be dismantled at a later stage.

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In Israel, far-right ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, are urging Netanyahu to continue fighting. They are said to be the voice of Netanyahu.

Fate of Previous Ceasefires

There have been Israel-Hamas ceasefires before, but these have been in place for a total of only nine weeks, according to CNN.

The first ceasefire came into effect in November 2023, but lasted only a week. In that time, 105 hostages were released from Gaza, in exchange for scores of Palestinian prisoners.

A second ceasefire was not struck until January 2025, shortly before Trump’s return to the White House. In just over 8 weeks – the first “phase” of the ceasefire – Hamas freed 33 hostages, with Israel releasing around 50 Palestinian prisoners for every Israeli freed.

Under the planned second stage, Israel was supposed to agree to a permanent ceasefire. But Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, shattering the ceasefire and derailing the talks, saying it did so to put pressure on Hamas to release the remaining hostages.

Hamas’ Stand Hard

There are problems with the Hamas too. No progress has been made in recent days in talks between Israel and Hamas. Hamas is demanding American guarantees that the war will completely end following a two-month cease-fire, a condition Israel flatly rejects.

Be that as it may, the lynchpin for peace in this part of the world is the US and President Trump, as Israel can exist and fight the Arab world only with American support.

It remains unclear as to how much pressure the US is actually prepared to put on Netanyahu to achieve its ends, given the US interest in having a strong leader in Israel who will back America’s regional interests. Then there is the powerful Jewish lobby in the US which the US Administration has to please. If the US takes its hands off the issue, for any reason, the region will be embroiled in an unending war.    

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