Biden might have torpedoed the truce talks

On Monday, Joe Biden said - while eating ice cream - that he was hopeful for a "ceasefire" by next week.

"We're close," President Biden told reporters. "We're not done yet. My hope is by next Monday we'll have a ceasefire."

It was a very stupid thing to say.

Once Biden said that he thought a deal was close, that made Hamas far less likely to agree to a deal. 

Everyone in every Western government that deals with the Muslim world, from Presidents down through the grunts in the foreign ministries, really needs to take a basic course in honor/shame culture.

When Hamas leaders read this report, they felt that they were being manipulated. They want any agreement to look like they are the ones making the demands, not meekly following others. Their "honor" demands this. 

When Biden said that they were close to an agreement that made Hamas look weak, in their minds. 

Indeed, when they rejected the proposed agreement, they practically said so:

Another Hamas official, Ahmad Abdelhadi, said that the group was sticking to its demand that Israel agree to a long-term cease-fire and that leaks about the talks were designed to pressure Hamas to soften its position.

“We are not interested in engaging with what’s been floated, because it does not fulfill our demands,” Mr. Abdelhadi said Tuesday in a televised interview with al-Mayadeen, a Lebanese broadcaster.

Qatar, for all its faults, understands the basics of what you say publicly when dealing with a group where honor is a paramount concern.

Qatar, a key mediator in the talks, also expressed caution on Tuesday, saying it could not comment on Mr. Biden’s view that negotiators were nearing an agreement.

“The efforts are ongoing; all the parties are conducting regular meetings,” Majed al-Ansari, a spokesman for the Qatari foreign ministry, told reporters in Doha. “But for now, while we certainly hope it will be achieved as soon as possible, we don’t have anything in our hands so as to comment on that deadline.”

It appears that Biden wanted to look, especially in an election year, like he was leading the effort and getting results. His ego and ambition got in the way of the goal. 

The other concern is that he used the term "ceasefire" and not "pause" or "truce." "Ceasefire" has been the stated desire of Israel's haters. Since he was speaking off the cuff, this may or may not have been intentional, but it is certainly concerning. 

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