Just went back through some of my old posts from Oct and Nov from last year, and they felt surreal, especially the ones about #Iran repeating #Carter 1979 and #Netanyahu's intransigence — Both were obvious from the very early days of the conflict.
It is still shocking that we knew these 4 months ago
⬆️ update
>> It is still shocking that we knew these 4 months ago
SEVEN months ago
Now voices in #israel are piling on.
We can’t let #Iran and #middleEast use a hostage crisis again and do to #Biden what Iran did to Carter in 1979.
Suggestion that Biden may be impeached for “abandoning American hostages” and withholding MOAB class bombs from Israel is deeply offensive
This #falseEquivalence must be forcefully rejected before it takes a life of its own 😡
⬆️ The fate of the latest #ceaseFire proposal hinges on #Netanyahu and #Sinwar
In what can only be seen as a symbiotic interdependence, neither seems to be in a rush to make concessions to end the war and free #hostages taken by #Hamas in its #Oct7 attack
#TimingIsNoCoincidence #Election2024
Hamas has accepted the broad outline of the plan but requested “amendments.” Netanyahu has PUBLICLY disputed aspects of it, even though the #US has framed it as an #Israeli plan
⬇️
The fate of the proposed cease-fire deal for Gaza hinges in many ways on two men: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar. Each leader faces significant political and personal pressures that may be influencing their decision-making. And neither seems to be in a rush to make concessions to end the devastating eight-month-long war and free hostages taken by Hamas in its Oct. 7 attack. Hamas has accepted the broad outline of the plan but requested “amendments.” Netanyahu has publicly disputed aspects of it, even though the U.S. has framed it as an Israeli plan.
⬆️ #Netanyahu is ‘buying time’
Throughout the war, he has been criticized for letting personal political considerations get in the way of his decision-making.
His government is buoyed by two ultranationalist parties that oppose #ceaseFire deals. Instead, they prefer continuous military pressure to try to defeat #Hamas and free #hostages.
They also talk about “encouraging” #Palestinians to leave and reestablishing Israeli #settlements, which were dismantled when Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005
⬆️ >> #Netanyahu is “buying time”
“I wish that he would be a statesman and do what is right for Israel. We all love #Israel,” former House Speaker Nancy #Pelosi said recently on CNN. “We need to help them and not have him stand in the way of that for such a long time.”
Tensions between Netanyahu and #Biden have been seeping into the public.
As of now, no meeting between the leaders during Netanyahu’s Washington visit has been scheduled.
The last time Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the U.S. Congress, nearly 60 Democrats skipped his speech nine years ago. To them, it was a slap in the face to then-President Barack Obama as he negotiated a nuclear deal with Iran. With Netanyahu scheduled to address U.S. lawmakers on July 24, the number of absences is likely to be far greater. Congressional Democrats are wrestling with whether to attend. Many are torn between their long-standing support for Israel and their anguish about the way Israel has conducted military operations against Hamas in Gaza. Some Democrats say they'll come out of respect for Israel. Others want no part of Netanyahu's appearance.
Ramesh #NotGoingBack
kaffando