The Peanut Gallery: Biden Hints at Extended Gaza Ceasefire
February 26, 2024
Welcome to the Peanut Gallery! Today I’ve got nothing but good news.
Please remember that I know nothing.
President Biden on Monday said he hoped a deal between Israel and Hamas could emerge as soon as next week, providing for the release of many of the remaining hostages in Gaza in exchange for a temporary pause in the fighting in the Palestinian enclave.
Asked on Monday when a Gaza cease-fire could start, Biden said: “I hope by the end of the weekend. ... My national security adviser tells me that we’re close — we’re close — we’re not done yet. My hope is by next Monday we’ll have a cease-fire.”
I’ll be honest, the Israel-Hamas War? I hate everything about it. It’s my bane, utterly incomprehensible and guaranteed to start a fight with every conversation, so believe me when I say that I am grateful for this impending ceasefire. It’s a huge deal, one which will strengthen both Israel and Ukraine’s moral credibility, and in my opinion brings nothing but benefits.
People will stop justifying Russia’s atrocities with a shrug and a, “But what about Israel-Palestine?”
Guns meant for Israel can instead go to Ukraine.
Red Sea drama should simmer down.
Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis will distance themselves from Iran (given their cowardice). Fundie sects run on street cred, and Iran just lost a whole bunch due to their failure to intervene.
Iran gets an out, one they look eager to take.
Putin loses the direct material assistance Iran’s proxy network provided his war effort.
All of this means the world can shift its focus back to where it belongs: Ukraine.
Provided the ceasefire goes into effect as the President implies. Seven more days, then Israel & Palestine can begin to discuss what comes next. It seems clear to all parties involved that the pre-Oct. 7th status quo wasn’t working and that something needs to materially change. What that something might be requires a serious conversation, yet nobody can say anything so long as people are killing each other.
Call me irrational, but I’ve got faith this thing will go into effect. Biden wouldn’t have dropped that ‘Next Monday!’ tidbit if he wasn’t confident in the ceasefire’s prospects. The important deciders must be down to niggling over minor details.
Honestly, though, Biden’s confidence seems at odds given Netanyahu’s apparent intransigence.
The negotiations have proved difficult as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sought to appease far-right members of his government, who have opposed the deal, and Hamas has made demands that Israel finds unacceptable, including on the issue of releasing Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli hostages.
Netanyahu is against any concept of a ceasefire, mainly because he knows his hold on office depends on the war continuing. Biden’s confidence makes me think Netanyahu’s opinion on the matter is irrelevant. Now I’m completely ignorant to Israeli parliamentary rules, norms, and procedures, but if I had to throw out a hairbrained guess it’s that Netanyahu’s coalition is about to dissolve. Before Oct. 7th his grip on power was tenuous, one he hoped to tighten by seizing control of the Israeli judiciary. This pissed a lot of people off, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Israel’s parliament chuck Bibi out on his ass. The potential release of all remaining hostages would certainly give them cause.
But until this ceasefire goes into effect, we’ve all got to deal with his bullshit, apparently.
Netanyahu has become increasingly defiant of U.S. demands and has rebuffed Biden’s specific requests, causing a rift between the two leaders. U.S. officials hope that a long-term pause will make it harder to resume fighting on the same scale and that Israel will shift to a more targeted, less deadly military operation.
Yeah, that man knows he’s fucked if this ceasefire goes into effect, so he’s going to kick and scream every step of the way. He wants war, wants conflict because it feeds into his faction’s fetishism of its own self-inflicted victimhood. They chose to build settlements in the West Bank. They chose to infringe upon the sovereignty of the Palestinians. And now a thousand of their countrymen are dead.
Repression breeds retaliation. Violence spreads violence. Death begets death.
The issue of Netanyahu is the same issue posed by Orban, Erdogan and Trump: how do we stop this shit from happening? How do we stop psychopaths from seizing the reins of power? People here in the States go on and on about cognitive tests—about how Trump needs one, how Biden needs one, how the whole damn government needs one.
I say good to that, cognitive tests are important, but if we’re going to go so far as to make our governmental officials take a test, then we might as well squeeze the whole orange. Let’s test for psychopathy and narcissism, too. Both of those personality disorders should disqualify a person from public office.
What do you guys think?
Russian forces executed nine Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) who had just surrendered near Ivanivske (on the outskirts of Bakhmut).[13] The February 25 footage is the fourth such instance of video evidence showing Russian forces executing Ukrainian POWs in the past two weeks alone.[15]
The Russian army’s discipline is deteriorating. Please give Ukraine what they need to bring this war to an end.
‘Q’ for the Community:
What are your thoughts on a potential treaty between Israel and Palestine?
Join the conversation of on /r/TheNuttySpectacle!