The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is back from his ninth visit to the region since the Gaza War began. President Joe Biden spoke on the phone with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again yesterday.
Israeli media report that an Israeli delegation, led by Mossad chief David Barnea, is once again on its way to Cairo for continued peace talks. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted the latest peace proposal from the US, as it meets the country's security requirements, reports Times of Israel.
But what is being communicated outwardly is pessimistic, notes Anders Persson at Linnaeus University.
Hopes dwindling
Hopes have dwindled significantly, judging from the statements from all sides here. Two American representatives told Politico yesterday that the talks are on the brink of collapse. Israel has said that there are small, small chances of success, and Hamas has been sour all the time, he says to TT.
The optimism that Biden and Blinken projected in the beginning is very unclear what it was based on and it does not seem to have any backing.
The fact that 75 days remain until the US election makes Biden's and Blinken's strength and credibility as mediators weaken with each passing day, he points out.
Any promises can be torn apart if Trump becomes president, it's hard to give guarantees that a ceasefire can be maintained.
Agreement after the US election?
Meanwhile, countries continue to send delegations to keep some form of talks going.
No one wants to take the blame for this collapsing. It's domestically politically sensitive for Israel and for the relationship with the US, and if all the mediators – the US, Qatar, and Egypt – were to say that the talks have collapsed, it would quickly worsen the situation vis-à-vis Iran.
Hamas' stance is more unclear – more than that the terrorist-listed organization does not accept the new Israeli demands included in the latest peace proposal.
For Qatar, which indirectly or directly speaks on behalf of Hamas, it can also be advantageous to wait until a new president is in place in the US.
Then one can start by standing in very good favor and doing the next administration a service.
