“It’s not convenient for anyone” –

“Is enough being done and will it be possible to convince the parties quickly?” Sabrina Scampini opened the latest episode of Stasera Italia, the politics and current affairs program that airs on Rete 4 at the weekend, with this frank question. The question was posed to Antonio Padellaro, a guest connected to the studio. The Israeli negotiators, returning from discussions in Doha for a ceasefire in Gaza, “expressed their cautious optimism” to Benjamin Netanyahu. This was reported by the Prime Minister’s office. “It is hoped that strong pressure from the United States and the mediators on Hamas will ensure that opposition to this American proposal is removed” which, the statement added, “includes elements acceptable to Israel”. Already on Friday, Hamas said it rejected “new conditions” of this proposal, denouncing the “American diktats”. What are the scenarios?

“The agreement is closer than it has ever been. I don’t want to jinx it, but we could have something. We’re not there yet, but we’re closer than we were three days ago,” US President Joe Biden said. “The statements are fine, but it’s hard to see why this truce should be close. How many times has Biden, with the best intentions, announced in recent months that the truce was close?” Padellaro commented first. The point, according to the Il Fatto Quotidiano editorialist, is that there is no advantage in the truce. “It doesn’t suit anyone, neither Netanyahu nor Hamas who take advantage of the balance of terror. As for the Americans, they do what they can. We should calculate how many kilometers poor Blinken has traveled since he was given this assignment. Useless trips. Let’s not talk about the European Union which has a marginal role in this story,” the journalist added.