According to the document, Israel will release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners who were arrested on October 8, 2023, but were not involved in Hamas’ attack on Israel the day before.
Of the 33 hostages Hamas is expected to release, nine who are ill and injured will be exchanged for 110 Palestinian prisoners with life sentences, according to the document.
Under phase one of the deal, Israeli forces will gradually reduce their presence along the Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow strip of land along the Egypt-Gaza border, and begin withdrawing after the last of the 33 hostages is released. Its forces will complete their withdrawal by day 50, under phase two of the deal, according to the document.
It also says Israel will work on getting the Rafah border crossing ready as soon as the agreement is signed to facilitate the return of displaced civilians. On the seventh day after the deal takes effect, unarmed pedestrians will be allowed to return to the north, without undergoing inspection, while vehicles will be able to return after being inspected by a third party.
And what a shame Biden will be able to announce (and take credit!) for it before Trump can triumphantly solve the problem two weeks after his inauguration.
To be honest, I’m kind of hoping someone can nominate Joe Biden for the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in securing the cease-fire, because, if he won, that would cause Donald Trump’s head to explode (figuratively) when the announcement is made.
I’m a bit surprised. I thought Trump maybe had some deal with Iran to make a peace deal happen 10 minutes after he was inaugurated a-la Reagan and the hostages in Iran.
I am curious about the political thinking behind all of this (I seriously doubt it was chance it happened this way).
Hamas seized 251 hostages when it attacked Israel in October 2023. It is still holding 94 captive, although Israel believes that only 60 are still alive.
I just checked NPR, which says there are three phases; the 33 to be released in the first phase, “male soldiers” in the second, and bodies of the deceased in the third.
NPR also says that it isn’t quite a done deal yet – that there are still details to be worked out, and it needs to be ratified by Israel’s cabinet.
Biden’s outgoing ambassador to Israel, Jacob J. Lew, told NPR on Friday that the unpredictability of Trump, and concerns about what his administration would do if a deal is not reached, are driving the momentum.
Tuned in to Fox News to see what the reaction was. The headline on their 11 p.m. show was something along the lines of “Ceasefire announced following tough talk from Trump.” They were also lambasting Biden for not giving Trump enough credit for this deal.
Whole thing currently on hold due to (to me at least) unclear reasons:
ETA: I’m not surprised. This whole thing has been on and off again so many times already. Maybe it will go through. Maybe, if it does go through, it’ll hold together for more than a couple of days or a couple of weeks. But the history both of this specific mess and of the last 75 years doesn’t bode well.
I’ve seen it pointed out that Trump claiming credit for this deal would be proclaiming that he’d feloniously violated the Logan Act, but I’m sure he’ll face consequences for that…(eyeroll emoji)
I see that there’s another “delay.” This smacks of 1981, when the release of the hostages from Iran was delayed, and The Version I Heard Was, it was to make sure that Reagan was President when the release happened.
On the other hand, if they time it so it starts five minutes before Trump takes the oath, it would taking the focus away from Trump’s inauguration.
Even if the hostages aren’t released until after Trump takes office, it’s clear that the negotiations went on (with involvement from Steven Witkoff, expected as special envoy to the Middle East in the Trump administration) during the Biden administration.