It’s been nearly a year since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks in Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza.
Patrick Kingsley, the Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times, explains why the war is still going, and what it would take to end it.
Guest: Patrick Kingsley (https://www.nytimes.com/by/patrick-kingsley) , the Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times.
Background reading:
• Here’s a look at the twists and turns over months of talks (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/21/world/middleeast/gaza-ceasefire-proposal-israel-hamas.html) and what the main sticking points have been recently.
• Cease-fire talks will continue in Cairo (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/26/world/middleeast/gaza-cease-fire-talks-cairo.html) , officials said.
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily (http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily) . Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
Kingsley’s assessment of the US administration’s “energy” in working towards a ceasefire under Blinken is just laughable. Itamar Eichner, diplomatic correspondent for the Israeli Yedioth newspaper, describes Blinken’s latest visit to Israel as having displayed “naivete and amateurishness … effectively sabotaging the deal by aligning with Netanyahu”.
liberals whitewashing Israels crimes against humanity, more at 11
Kingsley’s pollyannaish analysis regarding the “energy” of the Biden administration is jaw-dropping. Yesterday, former Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy wrote of the “staggering shortcomings in the Biden administration’s approach, exacerbated in secretary of state Antony Blinken’s latest mission”. Daniel Levy continues by dismantling Blinken in the following terms:
“On his ninth visit to Israel since the 7 October attack, Blinken again failed – not just at mediating between Israel and Hamas, but even in closing the gaps between the competing camps inside the Israeli system. The US refusal to take seriously that there are Hamas negotiating positions which are legitimate, and which will need to be part of a deal (and with which the US ostensibly agrees to in substance – such as a full Israeli withdrawal and a sustainable ceasefire), has condemned US-led talks to repeated failure.
Repackaging Israeli proposals and presenting them as a US position may have a retro feel to it, but that does not make it cool. And it won’t deliver progress (it can’t even sustain Israeli endorsement given Netanyahu’s constant shifting of the goalposts to avoid a deal). That the US has zero credibility as a mediator is a problem. That it has conspired to make its contributions not only ineffective but counterproductive is devastating.”
Why can’t you have interviews with Palestinians?
When has the IDF engaged Hamas? All I see is attacks on civilians.