On Monday, President Joe Biden said that the United States is working to present a new and final proposal for a ceasefire to the parties during the week. The US president said at the same time that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not doing enough to see such an agreement. On Sunday and today, the UN’s special coordinator for the peace process in the Middle East, Tor Wennesland, visited war-torn Gaza. – I agree that Israel must do more. It is the internal dispute in Israel that is being discussed, not only within the government between Prime Minister Netanyahu and parts of his cabinet, and the entire defense leadership on the other side. That is what the experienced Norwegian diplomat says to news. At the same time, Wennesland points out that Hamas is also a difficult party to negotiate with. – It is not easy to negotiate with Hamas. It is not a given that any of the parties intends to give in sufficiently to achieve a ceasefire, says Wennesland. The UN’s special coordinator for the peace process in the Middle East, Tor Wennesland. Photo: Torstein Bøe / news Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has held a press conference in Israel. The pressure on Israel from the US and others to do more to establish a ceasefire is not going unnoticed. – International pressure must be directed at Hamas, not Israel, Netanyahu said. The dispute is about the exchange of prisoners A ceasefire agreement will mean that the hostages in Gaza will be allowed to come home, at the same time that Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody will be released. The agreement will also ensure more emergency aid for Gaza’s population. People killed since October 7, 2023 Close Sources: Hamas-controlled health authorities in Gaza / UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) / Israeli authorities Disclaimer: Figures from Hamas-controlled health authorities in Gaza do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, and may periodically be late. Figures from Israeli authorities show that around 1,200 civilians and soldiers were killed in connection with the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. 340 Israeli soldiers have been killed since October 27, 2023. None of the figures have been confirmed by independent sources. The Palestinian figures are updated daily. Figures from Israel are updated at least twice a week. Close More information about the numbers But the parties accuse each other of sticking sticks in the wheels. Hamas wants the cease-fire to be permanent, while Israel wants to continue fighting Hamas after a cease-fire period has expired. Much also revolves around the Israeli demand that the Israeli army should continue to have control of the border corridor between Gaza and Egypt or not. It is not something that neither Hamas nor Egypt is interested in. The issue of prisoner exchange is extra difficult, according to the UN special coordinator. – There is no agreement on the names of key prisoners that Hamas has asked to be released, says Wennesland. The Norwegian special coordinator has previously expressed that the whole of Gaza must become part of a future Palestinian state, and he rules out a solution that involves a future Israeli presence in the Gaza Strip, even if a transitional arrangement may be necessary. The UN operation may be shut down From the UN’s side, it is crucial to get emergency aid into Gaza and evacuate more than 10,000 wounded civilians who need treatment, says Wennesland. Last week, a UN car was shot at to such an extent that the entire UN operation was in danger of being shut down, he says. A part of the town of Khan Younis in Gaza was hit by an Israeli attack yesterday. Most of Gaza is destroyed after 11 months of Israeli bombing. Photo: Mohammed Salem / Reuters Wennesland calls the destruction after Israel’s attack catastrophic. – Gaza is chaotic, the road network is destroyed, and people are crammed together in terrible conditions. They lack money and also do not receive adequate medical treatment. The UN must get the emergency aid in without endangering the lives of UN employees, says Wennesland. – Cynical power play from Netanyahu Today there has been a general strike in Israel to try to pressure the government to agree to a ceasefire. People in Israel are not necessarily against the war, but they want an agreement to get the hostages out of Gaza. Many in Israel believe that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is letting the war drag on because he knows that as soon as the war is over, he will probably be forced to resign. Netanyahu is dependent on the support of ultra-nationalist parties who will not make peace with Hamas now. Senior researcher Jørgen Jensehaugen at the Institute for Peace Research (Prio). Photo: ISMAIL BURAK AKKAN / news – Netanyahu has some far-right and nationalist parties in his coalition who have made it clear that they will withdraw from the government if there is a ceasefire and then the house of cards collapses. In this sense, this is a cynical power play on Netanyahu’s part, says Middle East expert and senior researcher Jørgen Jensehaugen at the Institute for Peace Research (Prio) to news. – A much-needed breather Wennesland has visited Gaza to follow up on the entire UN’s emergency aid work and the polio vaccination of Palestinian children, which is now in full swing. Among other things, he has visited a polio vaccination center in Deir al Balah, north of the southern part of Gaza. The poliovirus discovered in Gaza can cause illness that leads to paralysis in children. Wennesland himself helped vaccinate children in Deir al Balah. Photo: UN Israel has agreed that there will be no military activity in the areas where the vaccination takes place. It has worked, and 87,000 children were vaccinated on the first day, but there are still difficult areas, especially along the coast, says Wennesland. – It provides a much-needed breather for the many civilians who are packed together under very difficult and desperate conditions in the Gaza Strip, says Wennesland. Published 02.09.2024, at 20.25 Updated 02.09.2024, at 20.37
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UN special coordinator for the peace process Tor Wennesland has visited Gaza – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
