Middle East crisis

Israel-Hamas Negotiations

Analysis: Netanyahu's Yes is a Game – Will Procrastinate

What does Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have to gain by accepting Donald Trump's peace plan? Several news outlets are trying to answer that question in analytical texts.

Reuters' Alexander Cornwell and May Angel see it as an attempt to win back lost allies abroad and at the same time, in a high-risk move, repair his political platform at home.

Ending an increasingly unpopular war could increase Netanyahu's chances of winning the Israeli election in a year, they write. At the same time, they believe that the plan's wording about a Palestinian state could provoke his government coalition.

Haaretz's Amos Harel does not believe that Netanyahu plans to smoothly adopt the proposal, even though he has publicly accepted it. Instead, Harel predicts that the prime minister will try to start a protracted negotiation in the coming days on details such as final wording and a timetable for implementation. For example, the fact that the draft does not include a binding timeframe for the IDF's withdrawal could complicate matters, Harel writes.

He also believes that other Gulf countries, which are pressuring Hamas to accept the proposal, will try to soften certain wording to benefit the terror group.

"A lot can still go wrong - and there are already those who are doing their part to make it happen," he writes.

Israel-Hamas negotiations

Source: Hamas refuses to agree to disarm

Hamas will likely say no to Donald Trump's peace plan, a senior figure within the terror group tells the BBC. The person, who will not be named, believes that the proposal "ignores the Palestinian people" and "serves the interests of Israel".

Hamas is said to be against one of Donald Trump's main conditions, which is that the group should disarm. Another obstacle is the requirement that all hostages be released at the same time, which would weaken Hamas' negotiating position.

Earlier on Tuesday, a source close to the negotiations stated that Hamas is leaning towards accepting the proposed plan.

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Kristersson: The government is on the side of the well-behaved

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) and Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M) believe that since Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, aggression and threats in public space have become more common. They write on SvD's debate page that they have seen several "worrying examples" of this and list, among other things, that members of parliament have been confronted in a threatening manner and that hatred against Swedish Jews has escalated.

"When such behavior is constantly justified, relativized and excused with 'great commitment', we risk an escalation that, in the worst case, could lead to violence."

They write that the government is on the "side of the caring" and list several measures to address the problem. Among other things, they are stepping up work against extremism and giving the police greater powers regarding demonstrations.