WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden said Friday that Israel had offered a new roadmap towards a permanent peace in Gaza, urging Hamas to accept the surprise deal as it was “time for this war to end.”
In his first major address outlining a solution to the eight-month conflict, Biden said the proposal started with a six-week phase that would see Israeli forces withdraw from all populated areas of Gaza.
“It’s time for this war to end, for the day after to begin,” Biden said in a televised address from the White House, adding that “we can’t lose this moment” to seize the chance for peace.
Hamas says it is ready for a ‘complete agreement’ if Israel stops war
“Israel has offered a comprehensive new proposal. It’s a roadmap to an enduring ceasefire and the release of all hostages,” he said.
The 81-year-old Democrat put particular pressure on the Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose attack on key US ally Israel on October 7 last year trigged the grinding conflict in Gaza.
“Hamas needs to take the deal,” said Biden, who has supported Israel with military aid since the conflict began.
Biden said the first six-week phase would include a “full and complete ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza, release of a number of hostages, including women, the elderly, the wounded, in exchange for release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.”
Israel and the Palestinians would then negotiate during those six weeks for a lasting ceasefire — but the truce would continue if the talks remained underway, Biden said.
“As long as Hamas lives up to its commitments, a temporary ceasefire would become, in the words of the Israeli proposal, the cessation of hostilities permanently,” added Biden.
Biden’s announcement of the proposal comes after repeated attempts to end the war have stalled.
Hamas insists that any ceasefire should be permanent.
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