A CEASEFIRE was agreed between Hamas and Israel on Wednesday evening, according to media reports.
Exact details of the deal remain unconfirmed, but media reports suggest that the agreement is structured around a three-stage process in which Israeli troops would gradually withdraw from Gaza while some hostages held by Hamas would be released in exchange for Palestinians incarcerated in Israel.
The New York Times reported a White House official saying that the ceasefire would take effect immediately, and that that the first stage of the proposal was for a truce lasting six weeks, during which hostages would be released.
The deal was discussed in Qatar, with officials from that country, the United States, and Egypt, acting as mediators between Hamas and Israeli representatives.
Reports earlier in the week suggested that a deal was close to being reached. On Tuesday, the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, said that Israel and Hamas were “right on the brink” of agreeing to a deal.
The leader of the West Bank-based political party the Palestinian National Initiative, Mustafa Barghouti, said on Tuesday afternoon that the deal was almost identical to one proposed last July. On Radio 4’s The World at One, he said that it had been accepted at the time by Hamas, but “it was Netanyahu who undermined that”.
A possible hold-up in reaching a final agreement on the current proposals came from the requirement for Hamas commanders in Gaza to signal their agreement, which, according to the New York Times, was complicated by the security surrounding these individuals.
Earlier this month, ten bishops in the Episcopal Church in the United States visited Jerusalem in what was described as a “solidarity pilgrimage”.
CARRIE SCHOFIELD-BROADBENTThe American bishops with the Archbishop in Jerusalem, Dr Hosam Naoum, outside St George’s Cathedral, Jerusalem
In an interview with the Episcopal News Service, the Bishop of Maine, the Rt Revd Thomas J. Brown, said “this was ultimately not about economics but about the importance of showing the archbishop and the archbishop’s people that they are seen, and they are not forgotten.”
The American bishops visited the Jerusalem Princess Basma Centre, a medical centre run by the diocese of Jerusalem. They also met the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem.
In a post on Facebook, the Bishop of Maryland, the Rt Revd Carrie Schofield-Broadbent, wrote that it was “a joy and honor to spend time” with the Patriarch.
“He was filled with wisdom and joy and he and his staff offered wonderful hospitality. He explained to us that in the Holy Land, Christians see themselves as one, not in terms of denominations. He spoke lovingly about Jerusalem as a model example of coexistence. We’re praying for peace and at the same time, we know that peace isn’t easy.”
Christmas (unrevised Julian calendar) and the Epiphany (Gregorian calendar) fell during the bishops’ visit. They celebrated the latter in St George’s Cathedral.