This deal can end the war in Gaza

It’s taken more than half a year, but, finally, President Joe Biden has publicly unveiled an Israeli plan that could end the bloodshed in Gaza.

Generally, there are two ways to make peace; one is the total capitulation of the enemy, which happened after the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Japan surrendered, so ending World War II. The other is that the combatants recognize a “mutually hurting stalemate” as a prelude to making a deal, which is surely where we are in Gaza today.

But getting the two sides to actually agree to — and implement — the peace plan is far from a certainty. The fact that the terms of the deal were announced could even be a bad sign, since in sensitive negotiations terms are often kept secret until there is a firm deal.

Also, the military leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, who is ultimately calling the shots on the Hamas side, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both have their own reasons for possibly prolonging the conflict; Sinwar because every dead Gazan civilian chips aways at Israel’s standing in the world, while Netanyahu faces domestic political challenges that would likely only multiply the day after the guns fall silent.