Hamas Blames Israel for Stalling Gaza Truce Amid Escalating West Bank Tensions
Mogadishu (AX) — In the swirling dance of diplomacy and military tensions, Sunday heralded another somber chapter from the knotty conflict front. A tragic incident shook the northern Gaza Strip as Israeli forces reportedly killed a Palestinian while they were attempting to make their way back to a place he once called home. As if on cue, Hamas unleashed a salvo of accusations, charging Israel with dragging its feet on the supposed ceasefire and leaving displaced folks in a lurch with bureaucratic shackles.
Well, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with the gravitas of a seasoned statesman, countered that Hamas had crumpled the playbook by not releasing a female civilian hostage, a crucial note hammered out in black and white in their peace contract. It’s a classic case of this truce tango becoming more of a tangled two-step dance.
Sami Abu Shahadeh, a former Knesset member with a penchant for forthrightness, accused Netanyahu of playing the political mariner stranded at sea, using the ceasefire to burnish his standing and stay afloat politically. “Netanyahu is steering the ship with his interests at the helm, prioritizing clinging to power over crafting an era of peaceful coexistence,” he declared. You have to wonder, with such delays, is the peace agreement a house of cards waiting for a gust?
The ceasefire—round two, ding-ding—has rolled out a rather dramatic prisoner hand-off. Picture this: four Israeli soldiers walked home free, while 200 Palestinian detainees slipped out of their cages on Saturday. A deal akin to swapping a trinket for a treasure trove.
You’d think the tumult began in deep history, but just turn back the calendar to October 7, 2023. The relentless clash kicked off with a jaw-dropping Hamas offensive that left Israel reeling. The numbers stack up like a haunting ledger: Gaza’s health czars report a grim toll of at least 47,283 Palestinians caught in the crossfire of Israeli airstrikes, with over 111,000 tenderly tending to their wounds. Meanwhile, in harsh symmetry, Hamas’s opening salvo claimed 1,139 Israeli souls and saw over 200 hostages whisked away.
Meanwhile, as Gaza luxuriates in a fleeting moment of calm, the occupied West Bank is proving restless. The weekend scenario reads like a sad tale of déjà vu; in Jenin, a military raid by Israeli forces snuffed out two Palestinian lives, including a two-year-old girl. Can anyone fathom the depth of such tragedy? Adding to the air of tension, a Palestinian boy caught a bullet in Hebron, and another man found himself under arrest in Qusra, southeast of Nablus.
Salt to the wounds, Xavier Abu Eid of the PLO had words wrapped in sharp edges for Israel, noting, “These are not the deeds of a government on a peace mission. Israel’s track record since ’93 reads like a tale of broken promises.” No minced words there, only the hard truth.
Shift the spotlight to the global stage, and what do we find? The United States has rekindled its arms pipeline to Israel—and with it, the return of heavy bombs, all 2,000 pounds of them. All eyes were on President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One, as he faced the chorus of questions about the resumed deliveries. His defense? Plainly transactional: “They paid for them, haven’t they been in line long enough?” Life’s just one big supermarket checkout, apparently.
In a move that raised more than a few eyebrows, Trump floated the idea of relocating Palestinians from Gaza to friendly neighboring Arab lands. Bereft of subtlety, this suggestion ignited a storm of protest from Palestinian leaders, who deemed it a slap to their right to return. As if solving conflict is as simple as musical chairs.
Underneath it all, the diplomat trio of Egypt, Qatar, and the United States works tirelessly to nurse the ceasefire back to health. Yet the real question looms larger: can it last? Skeptical analysts gesture to the still-vibrant humanitarian crisis in Gaza and Israel’s controversial West Bank moves as signals that long-lasting peace is elusive as ever. Without earnest dialogue addressing such core issues, isn’t it just another powder keg waiting to blow?
Report By Axadle