Sharon Zhang
Truthout / October 8, 2024
The U.S. has reportedly all but given up on a ceasefire proposal it put forth just two weeks ago.
Biden officials have reportedly admitted that ceasefire negotiations amid Israel’s war on Lebanon and genocide in Gaza have been suspended, despite public insistence by high-powered figures within the administration that they are working around the clock for a ceasefire.
The Biden administration has given up on ceasefire talks after first proposing a deal for a 21-day ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel just two weeks ago, CNN reports, citing U.S. officials. The U.S. is “not actively trying to revive the deal,” the outlet wrote.
Two weeks ago, CNN reported that senior U.S. officials have also suspended efforts for ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas amid Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Officials said the effort isn’t totally cancelled but admitted there is no political will for a ceasefire to happen; though officials blamed Hamas and Israel, Israeli officials have been openly sabotaging ceasefire negotiations, while Hamas officials have voiced support for numerous ceasefire proposals.
Though officials are admitting to the suspension of ceasefire talks in private, however, in public, officials are still claiming that the administration is pushing for a ceasefire. Just on Monday, in a statement recognizing the anniversary of the October 7, 2023, attack, President Joe Biden insinuated that talks are ongoing.
“We will not stop working to achieve a ceasefire deal in Gaza that brings the hostages home,” the president said. “We also continue to believe that a diplomatic solution across the Israel-Lebanon border region is the only path to restore lasting calm and allow residents on both sides to return safely to their homes.”
Vice President Kamala Harris also gestured toward the ceasefire talks in a statement Monday, saying, “It is far past time for a hostage and ceasefire deal to end the suffering of innocent people.”
However, as many experts have said, it has long been clear that the priority for the administration is not to secure a ceasefire, but rather to give Israel all of the tools it needs to carry out its genocide and, potentially, escalate tensions into a wider war in the Middle East. Indeed, in the same statement, Harris said: “I will always ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists like Hamas.”
Just last week, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller seemed to openly admit that the goal of ceasefire negotiations has never been to actually achieve a ceasefire.
“We’ve never wanted to see a diplomatic resolution with Hamas,” Miller said in a press briefing, despite the administration having blamed Hamas officials for negotiation failures even as Israel has assassinated multiple top officials in Hamas and Hezbollah responsible for ceasefire negotiations.
Meanwhile, as Israel escalated tensions across the Middle East, including threatening to bomb key sites in Iran, Harris has named Iran as the U.S.’s current top enemy — rather than a country like Russia, a country that the U.S. is actively helping to fight amid its invasion of Ukraine.
When asked in her interview with “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday about the U.S.’s “greatest adversary” on the world stage, Harris said: “I think there’s an obvious one in mind which is Iran. Iran has American blood on their hands.” She raised Iran’s recent missile attack on Israel, and said one of her “highest priorities” is to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear capabilities.
This statement appears aimed at stoking tensions with Iran, gesturing toward a war with the country — a seeming goal of Israeli leaders, some analysts have said. It also ignores that, while it’s unclear what Harris is referring to when she suggests that Iran has killed Americans, Israel has killed many Americans just amid the genocide. Just last week, in fact, Israeli forces killed an American citizen, Hajj Kamel Ahmad Jawad, in a bombing on Lebanon.
Sharon Zhang is a news writer at Truthout covering politics, climate and labour
