Give Israel’s sound plan a chance

The imprimatur of Israel’s war cabinet, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is apparent in the complex plan for “a durable end to the (Gaza) war”, as Joe Biden announced it on Friday. Mr Netanyahu’s top adviser, Ophir Falk, has confirmed the three-phase plan – for an initial six-week ceasefire, an Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza’s population centres, and the release of Israeli hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners – was “a deal we agreed to”. Mr Biden described the plan as “a comprehensive Israeli proposal”. Reports in Israel said it had been endorsed by Mr Netanyahu and key members of the war cabinet – Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and former army chief Benny Gantz – before being “conveyed to Hamas”.

It is unclear how that squares with a subsequent weekend statement by the Israeli leader’s office that “Israel’s conditions for ending the war have not changed” and “any deal which does not allow for the complete destruction of Hamas, release of all hostages, and the end of Gaza’s security threat to Israel is a “non-starter”. But that does not diminish the importance of Mr Biden’s supporting an Israeli peace plan.

All sides must seriously consider one of the most important developments since Hamas’s October 7’s slaughter of 1200 Jews.

Far-right opposition to the plan within Mr Netanyahu’s coalition – from Religious Zionism’s Bezalel Smotrich and Otzma Yehudit’s Itamar Ben-Gvir – is no surprise. Both have pledged “to bolt’’ and bring down the Netanyahu-led government. That threat is of deep concern. But it should not deter Mr Netanyahu from pursuing what Times of Israel editor David Horovitz says is “an immensely fateful moment for Israel’’ and a defining moment for Mr Netanyahu.

Gaining release of the hostages demands Israel considers every possibility. Hamas says it views Mr Biden’s words “positively”. But its willingness to negotiate depends on a “permanent ceasefire” and “complete withdrawal” of Israeli forces from Gaza. But the terrorists and their Iranian paymasters should grasp Mr Biden’s warning. Hamas’s forces have been “devastated” by eight months of war and are “no longer capable of carrying out another October 7 mass slaughter of Jews”, he said. If Hamas (ever) fails to fulfil its commitments under the deal, Israel “can resume military operations”. Risks in the plan, which is backed by leaders across the democratic world, are profound. Only a third of Hamas terrorists have been killed, reportedly, and two-thirds of its tunnels are intact. There must be no concessions that undermine the security of Israel and its people on the way to a two-state solution to the crisis.