Dr. Dalal Erekat: The regional situation has reached a critical stage that urgently requires concluding a deal and a ceasefire
 Imad Moussa: The statement on returning to negotiations aims to trap Tehran in promoting a deal “on Netanyahu’s terms”
 Dr. Ashraf Badr: Netanyahu is still stubborn and the absence of a clear text to stop the war may push him to escape from the deal
 Adnan Al-Sabah: Success depends on Washington’s seriousness.. and Israel seeks to achieve the October 7 anniversary without a deal
 Dr. Jamal Zahalka: Whoever wants to pressure Israel should not give it $3.5 billion to buy more weapons
 Hani Al-Jamal: The statement spoke about negotiations to close the gaps but did not specify them, and Netanyahu wants to prolong the conflict
 Dawoud Kuttab: Biden has many tools at his disposal, the most important of which is the Security Council.. But is he ready to oppose Netanyahu?

With the escalation of the regional crisis and the possibility of a comprehensive war, talk of negotiations returns, in order to stop the war on the Gaza Strip, but attention is turning to the role played by US President Joe Biden in pressuring the head of the Israeli occupation government, Benjamin Netanyahu, to accept a swap deal and a ceasefire.

According to writers and political analysts, in separate interviews with Al-Quds.com, the current situation indicates that Netanyahu continues to adhere to his position of rejecting American demands, which raises questions about Washington’s true intention to end the ongoing war of extermination in the Gaza Strip.

Writers and analysts believe that American pressure may aim to exploit the situation in favor of the upcoming presidential elections, as Biden seeks to strengthen his position and that of his ally in the electoral race, Kamala Harris.

Writers and analysts point out that these pressures coincide with the delay of Iran and Hezbollah in their responses to the recent assassinations, which is supposed to give the negotiations a chance to achieve tangible progress to end the war.

The talk about the negotiations comes in light of what Channel 12 reported on Friday, that Netanyahu’s circular on the night of Thursday-Friday regarding sending a negotiating delegation “to a place determined by the mediators... to summarize the details in order to implement the framework agreement,” came after a clear signal from Washington to Netanyahu that there is no reason now to delay the deal.

Qatar, Egypt and the United States stressed in a joint statement late Thursday-Friday that it is time to conclude a ceasefire agreement in Gaza and release the hostages and detainees, announcing their call to the two parties, Israel and Hamas, to urgently resume negotiations next Thursday, August 15, in Doha or Cairo to close all remaining gaps and begin implementing the agreement without any delay.

The deal and the ceasefire are urgent necessities.
Dr. Dalal Erekat, Professor of Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution at the Arab American University, confirms that the regional situation has reached a critical stage that urgently requires the conclusion of an exchange deal and a ceasefire.

Erekat points out that the Iranian failure to respond to the assassination of Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh could benefit Hamas, which could strengthen its position in the negotiations and enable it to obtain greater demands related to names, numbers, or disputed details, noting that completing the exchange deal could come in exchange for halting the Iranian response and stopping the escalation in the region.

Israel insists the deal focuses on the exchange only.
Erekat points out that Israel insists that the deal focuses primarily on the exchange process only, while the resistance and Hamas demand a complete ceasefire.

She stresses the need for guarantees and the need to follow up on the crimes committed before international courts, even if the war stops and the deal is concluded, because these are described and documented crimes.

Erekat points out that there is enormous pressure on Israel to stop what she described as the "criminal war," and that the surrounding circumstances and factors are now largely ripe for concluding the deal.

She believes that US President Joe Biden is striving to complete the deal before leaving the White House, in order to strengthen the position of the Democratic Party in the upcoming presidential elections.

She stresses that Joe Biden has the ability to put pressure on Netanyahu, despite his intransigence in recent months.
Erekat believes that it is now in Biden's interest to stop the war and complete the deal before he leaves the White House, as he seeks to confirm his success in this file before the end of his term.

Erekat points out that Biden was able to stop the regional war against Israel and protect it from engaging in a war beyond its military capabilities.

Erekat believes that Biden will take into account his previous efforts to stop the regional war, and will invest that in pressuring Netanyahu to achieve progress in the negotiations.

Erekat explains the lack of Iranian response to Haniyeh's assassination so far as a result of the American movement aimed at stopping the outbreak of the regional war, which is in the interest of Israel first, and the countries of the region second.

Taking the pretext away from Iran and Hezbollah to respond
Writer and political analyst Imad Musa says: “The current situation in the negotiations file does not include mediators, but rather is an American request from Qatar and Egypt, which issued a statement regarding returning to negotiations.”

Musa explains that the statement was issued after midnight with the aim of trapping Tehran in promoting the possibility of concluding a deal with Israel, but on Netanyahu’s terms, which include releasing the living to enhance the image of his victory after the assassinations of Shukr in the southern suburbs of Beirut and Haniyeh in Tehran, after he lured America into entering a war.

According to Musa, the one imposing his will in this regard is the "Zionist lobby", whose support Biden needs in the US presidential elections, and here the one imposing his will is Netanyahu, not the other way around.

He points out that what is new in the context of returning to negotiations is the timing, which aims to remove the pretext from Tehran and Hezbollah to respond to the two assassinations, as negotiations mean gaining the time that America needs to assemble its naval forces in the region.

Musa stresses that the real goal of the negotiations is to stop the Iranian response by suggesting the possibility of stopping the war, with the aim of dismantling the axis of resistance, then focusing on targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon, and then directing severe strikes at the Houthis in Yemen, while the genocide in the Gaza Strip will continue and be active.

Netanyahu continues to refuse, and Washington may pressure him
Writer and political analyst Dr. Ashraf Badr confirms that current indicators show that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to adhere to his position of rejecting American demands and does not appear to be committed to the conditions that have been put forward.

He believes that, despite this, there is a clear American trend to pressure Netanyahu to accept the deal, in the context of taking advantage of this pressure in favor of Kamala Harris in the upcoming US presidential elections.

Badr points out that US President Joe Biden was unable to exert effective pressure on Netanyahu during the past period, due to the approaching end of his term, which led to tensions between Biden and Netanyahu. Despite this, matters did not reach the level of actual pressure on Netanyahu, as the United States is a strategic ally of Israel.

Badr explains that what is new in the upcoming negotiations is that the mediators confirmed that they will present a proposal aimed at bridging the gap between the two parties.

However, Bader stresses that the lack of a clear text to stop the war may push Netanyahu to try to escape from the deal.

Badr points out that if an agreement is reached, it is expected that things will calm down and the Iranian and Hezbollah response will stop, in exchange for stopping the war on the Gaza Strip, which could contribute to calming the situation significantly.

Success depends on the US's intent and seriousness.
Writer and political analyst Adnan Al-Sabah believes that the success of mediation efforts regarding the negotiations depends largely on the United States’ intention and seriousness to stop the war of extermination in the Gaza Strip, given that it has control over military aid to Israel.

Al-Sabah confirms that the basic question is: Does America really want to stop the war of extermination, or is it a matter of procrastination and managing the battle to continue it even after the American presidential elections?

Al-Sabah points out that the United States faces two choices: either manage a world of wars or stop, and that the decision in this regard is in America's hands.

Al-Sabah believes that what is new in the negotiations is that they coincide with the response of the resistance axis to the crimes committed by the occupation and the United States in Yemen, Iraq, Iran and Lebanon, which reflects the existence of a real crisis.

Al-Sabah raises a crucial question: Does the United States want to end the war or continue it? He explains that continuing the war until we reach the US presidential elections may expand the war further.

He points out that what Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said was clear, as he indicated that the United States realizes that the axis of resistance seeks to stop the war on the Gaza Strip, and that the end of the war means the end of the crisis.

Al-Sabah asserts that the axis of resistance, including Iran and Hezbollah, is seriously seeking to end the war, which means that there is no possible response if the war on Gaza ends, stressing the question of whether the United States is able to drag the world behind it.

He points out that the United States and Israel are seeking to reach the first anniversary of “October 7” without concluding a deal, and that Netanyahu is trying to exploit this date to record a major victory and transform it from a “black day” for Israel into a “day of victory,” thus trying to get rid of the cycle of failure, as dates are considered important in the Zionist mentality.

Biden won't pressure Netanyahu
In turn, former Knesset member and lecturer at the Arab American University in Jenin, Dr. Jamal Zahalka, told Al-Quds.com, “I believe that Biden will not impose his will on Netanyahu, because this requires serious pressure on Netanyahu, and whoever wants to pressure does not give Israel $3.5 billion to buy more weapons to commit more massacres, killings and destruction.”

He added: Biden is a Zionist to the core, and despite that he does not like Netanyahu and is at odds with him, he is more loyal to the State of Israel than Netanyahu, and therefore he will not enter into a process of pressuring him.

Zahalka pointed out that Netanyahu is subject to pressures if they are exerted on him, and he does not feel them now, not even on the horizon, so he continues his policy of continuing the war for a very long time. He has set goals that cannot be achieved, and he always claims that he will continue the war until they are achieved. He says that he wants a demilitarized Gaza, the elimination of Hamas, and the eradication of extremism, and that takes very long years, and it is impossible.

Galant wants the deal, Netanyahu intends to replace him
Zahalka said: We are facing an Israeli prime minister who wants to continue the war. He is the decision maker, because the government is with him. He has 64 Knesset members, and as long as this majority is with him, his government is stable, and he can continue the war. He explained that there is no pressure in the Israeli government to stop the war, and the only one calling for an exchange deal is Galant, and Netanyahu intends to replace him.

He stated, "Under these circumstances, we do not see that Biden can impose his will on Netanyahu, but the question is why this initiative and the noise around it and creating a state of waiting as if something will happen. I believe that the initiative came as a result of an American desire to conduct negotiations, and everyone is under the illusion that there is a possibility of reaching a ceasefire, and thus it will hinder the Iranian response and perhaps also from Hezbollah."

He believed that the talk about conducting negotiations aimed to influence the Iranian decision and the decision of Hezbollah.

Zahalka pointed out that there is no change in Netanyahu's position, and as long as that remains the case, there will be no ceasefire or exchange deal.

There will be no Biden victory over Netanyahu
Hani al-Gamal, head of the International Research and Studies Unit at the Arab Center in Cairo, told Al-Quds.com: “Unfortunately, I believe that Biden will not prevail over Netanyahu and force him to a humanitarian truce requested by the mediation countries (Egypt, Qatar and America) in the tripartite statement, which stressed the necessity of a round of negotiations on the 15th of this month. Until Netanyahu announces sending a delegation to Cairo or Doha, I believe that Netanyahu will resort to procrastination and will not submit to these international desires. What he did (yesterday) was a response to that through the massacres committed by his army in the Gaza Strip and targeting worshipers.”

Al-Jamal added: “The tripartite statement confirmed that the upcoming negotiations are based on bridging the gaps between Hamas and Israel, but it did not specify them, especially since Netanyahu always announces in every round of negotiations that he is raising the ceiling of his own desires, which hinders reaching a humanitarian truce. If these gaps are security, with Israel’s presence in the “Netzarim” axis and the inspection of those returning to northern Gaza, in addition to the rejection of 100 figures who were agreed upon and released, or even the deportation of many of them outside Palestine, it confirms that Israel is absolutely unwilling to establish a humanitarian truce and submit to international desires.”

The researcher Al-Jamal pointed out Netanyahu's desire to prolong the conflict and reach the end of the American elections next November, and then pressure the American side to obtain more weapons weighing tons to use against innocents and civilians, and then reach elections that may lead to Netanyahu with his strategic ally Trump, and thus bring about a geopolitical change in the region that is consistent with the desires of Netanyahu and the Americans, whether Democrats or Republicans, to cause a disturbance in the region, and implement a new Middle East based on full normalization between Israel and the major Arab countries.

He expressed his belief that Biden will not be able to impose his will to approve a truce due to the pressure tools Netanyahu has, whether in Israel or in America, and that will be an obstacle to Biden's desires, while the recent decisions regarding Biden's mental incompetence unfortunately put him in the crosshairs of not agreeing to matters that may lead to a humanitarian truce.

It's up to the US President personally.
Palestinian Jerusalemite journalist specializing in American affairs, Daoud Kuttab, told Al-Quds.com: “I believe that US President Joe Biden, who removed himself from the elections, is free from the electoral pressures associated with the pro-Israel lobby, but in order to be able to put strong pressure on Netanyahu, he must emerge from the personal Zionist cloak that he has assumed for decades. Here, it must be noted that Biden may be somewhat cautious about anything that might harm his deputy, Harris, the Democratic Party candidate.”

He added: It is strange that the American President still refrains from making use of the many means at his disposal, the most important of which is the UN Security Council, whose decisions are binding, especially if they are linked to Chapter VII of the UN Charter.

Writers stressed that "it is difficult for Biden to use a veto on a project called the 'Biden Project' to cease fire in Gaza, and therefore the matter is up to the US President personally and the extent of his willingness to oppose Netanyahu and his group."