Israel and Hamas have strong reasons not to extend Gaza ceasefire

 

 

"The diplomats’ difficulty is that both sides in the war have good reasons not to extend the ceasefire. Hamas would lose leverage over Israel if all the hostages were released. It is also argued that Hamas cannot afford to make too many concessions without losing support to the other rival military groups operating in Gaza, such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

For Netanyahu, the risk lies in being drawn into a ceasefire that leaves Hamas’s military structures intact – an outcome that runs counter to his vow this battle is not a repetition of the four previous conflicts with Hamas in Gaza that left it in power. Netanyahu has called it a fight between barbarism and civilisation, so can hardly afford a conflict that does not lead to complete victory.

Moreover, Netanyahu knows if he were to settle for a murky outcome he would be pilloried by rightwing extremists in his government that could then withdraw from the government and force an election that the polls show the public wants – and that he would lose badly."

read analysis by "The diplomats’ difficulty is that both sides in the war have good reasons not to extend the ceasefire. Hamas would lose leverage over Israel if all the hostages were released. It is also argued that Hamas cannot afford to make too many concessions without losing support to the other rival military groups operating in Gaza, such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

For Netanyahu, the risk lies in being drawn into a ceasefire that leaves Hamas’s military structures intact – an outcome that runs counter to his vow this battle is not a repetition of the four previous conflicts with Hamas in Gaza that left it in power. Netanyahu has called it a fight between barbarism and civilisation, so can hardly afford a conflict that does not lead to complete victory.

Moreover, Netanyahu knows if he were to settle for a murky outcome he would be pilloried by rightwing extremists in his government that could then withdraw from the government and force an election that the polls show the public wants – and that he would lose badly."

read analysis by Patrick Wintour​

Israel and Hamas have strong reasons not to extend Gaza ceasefire | Israel-Hamas war | The Guardian