LONDON (AP) — Tens of thousands of people turned out on central London’s streets Saturday for a pro-Palestinian march calling for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza.
Police said that while the majority of people protested peacefully, 18 people were arrested including at least five people who were detained on suspicion of inciting racial hatred.
Returning all the hostages is probably a prerequisite for this
Which seems like a hard sell for Hamas. If I’m Israel the first thing I’m doing once the hostages are back is pumping a deluge of seawater into the tunnels.
Yeah, well it’s an even harder sell when the world doesn’t give a shit. Put pressure on them, demand the hostages released for the sake of a ceasefire.
The hostages are Hamas’s leverage for a ceasefire. “We’ll negotiate once you hand over all your leverage” doesn’t work for obvious reasons.
What little leverage Palestine has is derived from two things: the hostages, which Israel demonstrated they will not allow to confer a tactical advantage, and general safety of their population, which is what this war is about for Israel.
Hamas is about to be destroyed, and I don’t think hanging on to the hostages will change that. I suspect it would be better for them to use what leverage they have to try and sue for peace rather than a temporary ceasefire, even if that means letting the hostages go. As things are progressing now, the remaining Palestinian lands are slipping away, and belligerence and hostage taking will only hasten this.
You say “sue for peace” a lot, but it seems like you’re misunderstanding the situation in Palestine. Both the PNA and Hamas are suing for peace by default. The thing is that it’s Israel who decides if there’s peace or not; as long as they continue their occupation of Palestinian lands there can’t be peace (and yes Gaza is occupied). It’s like saying the ANC should sue for peace with the Apartheid government, which is like yes that’s what they’re doing.
Also the hostages aren’t a tactical advantage, but they just used them to free Palestinian prisoners the other day.
Edit: Oh and also: Israel (specifically Netanyahu and his ilk) likes to go on about Hamas getting destroyed, but realistically speaking they’re not going anywhere. The IDF doesn’t have the capabilities or political will to eliminate Hamas in urban warfare.