(The Australian, 13/7/2024)
Same old story – Mark
US President Joe Biden says US mediators are making progress in reaching a Gaza ceasefire deal and has called for an end to the Israel-Hamas war.
Mr Biden, in a news conference on Thursday aimed at reassuring doubters about his re-election bid, acknowledged concerns about Israeli actions despite his support for the US ally.
“There’s a lot of things in retrospect I wish I had been able to convince the Israelis to do, but the bottom line is we have a chance now. It’s time to end this war,” he said after a NATO summit in Washington.
Mr Biden acknowledged there remained “difficult, complex issues” between Israel and Hamas.
“There are still gaps to close. We’re making progress,” he said. “The trend is positive, and I’m determined to get this deal done and bring an end to this war, which should end now.”
More than a month ago Mr Biden laid out a plan in which Israel would temporarily halt its offensive in Gaza and Palestinian militants would release hostages, setting the stage for talks for a permanent end to the devastating nine-month war.
Hamas came back with counter-proposals and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced pushback from some of his hard-right government allies.
But diplomats have spoken of progress in the latest round of talks that closed on Thursday in Qatar, the key mediator.
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