Are Hamas and Israel on equal footing in cease-fire negotiations?

A delegation from the Palestinian group Hamas landed in Cairo on Saturday evening to “hear the results of negotiations so far” with intermediaries such as Egypt, Qatar, and the United States.

Observers are reluctant to call this a hopeful sign as views grow that the Gaza cease-fire negotiations between Hamas and Israel are on the verge of breaking down.

Negotiations have continued in effect in one form or another since Israel began its war against Gaza on October 7, causing more than 0.04 million deaths and destroying much of the Gaza Strip.

The United States announced a draft approved by all parties in May and approved by the United Nations Security Council on 6/10, and an agreement seemed close.

The Hamas side agreed to this proposal and emphasized that it hoped to withdraw Israeli forces from Gaza, return people to their homes in northern Gaza, obtain international involvement to rebuild Gaza, and release Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

Senior Israeli government officials continued to make statements that the war against Gaza must continue, and Israeli forces invaded Rafah.

However, the US claimed that Israel accepted the proposal and that it was Hamas that was blocking all progress.

A cease-fire agreement seemed within reach, but it disappeared.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu maintained the rhetoric of continuing to fight until “Hamas is completely defeated in Gaza.”

Israel will stay in the Philadelphia Corridor next to Egypt's Sinai, set up checkpoints to “screen” people trying to return to their homes in northern Gaza, and provide a complete list of all living prisoners that Hamas intends to release.

A senior Israeli government official said Prime Minister Netanyahu's request interfered with the talks, and intermediaries refused to communicate it to Hamas.

Egypt is rejecting Israel's request to allow it to remain in the Philadelphia Corridor, which violates the Camp David agreement between the two sides.

The US proposal followed past drafts and stuck to a three-step process of freeing all prisoners in Gaza in exchange for prisoners held by Israel, achieving “sustainable peace” leading to a complete cease-fire, withdrawing Israeli forces from Gaza, reconstructing the Gaza Strip, and eventually opening pedestrian crossings.

“The proposal launched by US President Biden in late May was quite detailed, and was passed as a resolution (with global support) by the United Nations Security Council.

“However, despite Biden saying he supports Israel, Prime Minister Netanyahu has made it clear that he does not support it.

Prime Minister Netanyahu was criticized by Israeli negotiators because local broadcasters reported that Israel would not withdraw “no matter what happens” from the Philadelphia and Netzarim Corridors built by the Israeli military to separate the north and south of Gaza.

In the past few days, senior US government officials have been trying to resolve conflicts in this region with a “bridging plan,” which is said to include a withdrawal plan.

However, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not specify whether the proposal included a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. However, US Secretary of State Blinken maintained his previous assessment as to who is interfering with the situation.

“Today, in a very constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, he confirmed to me that Israel supports the bridging plan,” Blinken told reporters after two and a half hour talks with Prime Minister Netanyahu on Monday. The next important step is for Hamas to say “yes.”

Blinken's claims were rejected by Hamas, and the Hamas side insisted they wanted to stick to the agreed deal.

“Israel has retreated from issues included in Biden's proposal. Prime Minister Netanyahu's statement that he agrees to the latest proposal shows that the US administration has failed to persuade him to accept the previous agreement,” Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan told Al Jazeera on Monday.

In public, Blinken is adamant that Prime Minister Netanyahu agrees to this agreement, but Israeli media are reporting that things are unfolding differently behind the scenes.

The fact that the Biden administration continues to support Prime Minister Netanyahu has perplexed many analysts, despite his stubbornness being conveyed.

“Both Hamas and Israeli security officials say Prime Minister Netanyahu is interfering with Biden's cease-fire proposal.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu has publicly rejected key elements of the cease-fire described by Mr. Blinken.

“In the end, the US administration will be defending Prime Minister Netanyahu for inexplicable reasons.

Israel is aiming at the talks to retrieve prisoners held in Gaza, but since Prime Minister Netanyahu has been reported to be interfering with the talks, there are also voices questioning whether he is really interested in the deal.

According to Israeli government estimates, there are 109 prisoners left in Gaza, and senior US government officials believe half of them are still alive.

Families with loved ones who have gone missing in Gaza regularly protest and are calling on the government to save their prisoners.

“At the moment, there are strong claims that Prime Minister Netanyahu does not want a cease-fire. “In many ways, America won't pay any price to Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is the biggest obstacle to a cease-fire, so why should we do that?

Biden and his administration have criticized Prime Minister Netanyahu in the past.

In April, Biden said Prime Minister Netanyahu was making mistakes in his response to the war in Gaza.

Then, in early June, Biden suggested that Prime Minister Netanyahu was prolonging the war for personal and political gain.

Despite such criticism, the Biden administration has rejected conditions supporting the Netanyahu administration.

“Biden has two very important levers, the first is holding or conditioning military aid, and the second is political cover at the UN Security Council and other international organizations... and he doesn't seem to be using them,” Baji said.

By not pursuing responsibility between Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israel, America's accountability for the destruction of Gaza is being questioned.

“Biden is fully complicit in this war. In the first place, without America's full support and backing, this war would not have been possible.

“These negotiations were doomed to failure from the start.