FAKE NEWS ALERT1
The media are reporting that Hamas has agreed to new proposals for hostage releases and a cease-fire. That is simply NOT true. What Hamas has accepted is an old US proposal that they previously rejected calling for temporary cease-fire in return for partial release of hostages. It was not acceptable then to either side, and is still likely to be rejected by Israel because it does not include the release of ALL hostages.
In the previous version Hamas kept some hostages in order to use them as bargaining chips in the future. Nothing has changed in that regard. Incidentally, International Humanitarian Law calls for the immediate release of any and all civilians taken during ‘military’ operations. It’s superfluous for me to add that the hostages include both Israeli civilians and even one foreign worker from the Far East. One can’t help but wonder why this fact has been ignored by media and governments alike for nearly 2 years.
As I write this, the Israeli government has not responded (they’re too busy with internal political squabbles to deal with what is really important). I see no reason for Israeli to accept this gambit and return to a series of drawn out negotiations that are unlikely to lead anywhere. But, once again, Hamas has gained a propaganda victory that casts them as accepting a “new” proposal and leaves Israel either accepting more delays or trying to justify why they are the ‘bad guys’ rejecting the olive branch.
Israel (and others) should have IMMEDIATELY exposed this fake for what it is, a propaganda ploy made to score points for the ‘poor Palestinians’.
Wetherhorn 