Israeli ceasefire proposal does not guarantee Gaza war will end

Israel has not offered guarantees for a “permanent” ceasefire and a complete withdrawal from Gaza, in its response to a plan presented by mediators, a copy of the proposal seen by Middle East Eye shows.

Israel instead agreed to a “temporary cessation of military operations” for 42 days, which would be followed by open-ended talks to reach a permanent ceasefire.

The “temporary ceasefire” would be extended after the initial 42-day phase “as long as negotiations on the conditions of stage two of [the] agreement are ongoing”, the document said.

The Israeli response also offers limited withdrawal of troops in the first phase of the three-stage agreement and says the complete pullout would take place in the second phase, which is subject to further discussions.

It also stipulates Israel can veto the release of at least 100 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences in the first phase.

The document, revealed in full exclusively by MEE, is dated 27 May, four days before parts of it were presented by US President Joe Biden.