A national “Uncommitted” campaign protesting the Biden administration’s handling of the Gaza war on May 31 responded to President Joe Biden’s endorsement of an Israel proposal for a six-week ceasefire, calling it a “welcome development” but “will likely fall flat.”
A senior U.S. official said the four-and-a-half page plan had been sent to Hamas for review on Thursday, and that it was “almost identical” to a proposal the militant group had already accepted. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Friday that it backed the plan.
Uncommitted is a political protest group centered around criticism of U.S. aid to Israel in its war with Hamas. The group began in Michigan before going national in March. It aims to put pressure on President Biden by having Democrats vote as “uncommitted” in the party’s presidential primaries around the country. The uncommitted vote won 13 percent of the vote in Michigan, 19 percent in Minnesota, and 18 percent in Kentucky.
She continued, “In calling on Netanyahu to accept a six-week ceasefire, Biden is slowly grasping the political fallout of his backing of Israel’s horrific assault on Gaza, yet he offers Netanyahu only carrots and words but no sticks on ending weapons transfers.”
The announcement of a potential ceasefire follows a wave of outrage from some progressive Democrats over President Biden’s continued supply of arms to Israel. They allege he is being too permissive with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s operations in the Rafah region, which this week resulted in the death of 50 civilians, and at least 200 injuries.
Rafah had become a gathering place for nearly a million refugees fleeing the conflict in other parts of Gaza; it is also viewed by Israel as the final stronghold of terrorist group Hamas. President Biden had previously said that an Israeli military penetration into Rafah constituted a “red line” which, if crossed, would cause him to withdraw military aid from Israel.
The potential, three-phase drawdown of the war in Gaza includes the release of Israeli hostages, the repopulating of Gaza with its refugees, and the withdrawal of Israeli Defense Force troops, President Biden said. The proposal has been sent to Hamas leadership for consideration.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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