Biden says Israel has offered to Hamas a three-step road map to an enduring ceasefire
Washington (PTI): US President Joe Biden on Friday announced that Israel has offered to Hamas, a three-step roadmap to enduring ceasefire in the region.
“Now after intensive diplomacy carried out by my team and my many conversations with leaders of Israel, Qatar, and Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries, Israel has offered a comprehensive new proposal. It’s a road map to an enduring ceasefire and the release of all hostages,” Biden told reporters at the White House.
“This proposal has been transmitted by Qatar to Hamas,” he said, adding that this new proposal has three phases. The first phase that would last for six weeks includes a full and complete ceasefire, a withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the populated areas of Gaza, release of a number of hostages, including women, the elderly, the wounded, in exchange for release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
“There are American hostages who would be released at this stage, and we want them home,” he said, adding that Palestinian civilians would return to their homes and neighbourhoods in all areas of Gaza, including in the north. Humanitarian assistance would surge with 600 trucks carrying aid into Gaza every single day, he noted.
“This is truly a decisive moment. Israel has made their proposal. Hamas says it wants a ceasefire. This deal is an opportunity to prove whether they really mean it. Hamas needs to take the deal,” Biden said.
During the six weeks of phase one, Israel and Hamas would negotiate the necessary arrangements to get to phase two, which is a permanent end to hostilities. “Now I’ll be straight with you, there are a number of details to negotiate to move from phase one to phase two. Israel will want to make sure its interests are protected, but the proposal says if the negotiations take longer than six weeks for phase one, the ceasefire will still continue as long as negotiations continue,” he said.
Phase two, Biden said, would be an exchange for the release of all the remaining living hostages, including male soldiers. Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza, and as long as Hamas lives up to its commitments, a temporary ceasefire would become, in the words of the Israeli proposal, the cessation of hostilities permanently.
In phase three, a major reconstruction plan for Gaza would commence and any final remains of hostages who’ve been killed would be returned to their families, he said.
“That’s the offer. That’s now on the table and what we’ve been asking for. It’s what we need. The people of Israel should know they can make this offer without any further risk to their own security because they’ve devastated Hamas from forces over the past eight months,” he said.
Biden reiterated his commitment to the defence of Israel. “To the people of Israel, let me say this. As someone who has had a lifelong commitment to Israel, as the only American President who has ever gone to Israel in a time of war, as someone who just sent the US forces to directly defend Israel when it was attacked by Iran, I ask you to take a step back and think of what will happen if this moment is lost,” he said.
“We can’t lose this moment. Indefinite war and pursuit of an unidentified notion of total victory will not bring Israel and will only bog down Israel and Gaza, draining the economic, military, and human resources and furthering Israel’s isolation in the world,” said the US president.
The United States, he said, will help forge a diplomatic resolution, one that ensures Israel security and allows people to safely return to their homes without the fear of being attacked. With the deal of rebuilding of Gaza will begin Arab nations and the international community along with Palestinian and Israeli leaders to get it done in a manner that does not allow Hamas to rearm, he added.
The United States will work with its partners to rebuild homes, schools, and hospitals in Gaza, to help repair communities that were destroyed in the chaos of war. With this deal, Israel could become more deeply integrated in the region, including a potential historic normalisation agreement with Saudi Arabia. “Israel could be part of a regional security network to counter the threat posed by Iran,” Biden said.
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SIT to be set up to identify forest, revenue land as per SC directions: Karnataka Minister Gowda
Mangaluru (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on Saturday said a SIT will be constituted at the district level to identify forest and revenue land and submit a report in compliance with directions of the Supreme Court.
Speaking after inaugurating the Mulki taluk Administrative Centre 'Praja Soudha' near here, the minister said the long-pending issue of classification of forest and revenue land has caused hardship to farmers and the government is taking steps to resolve it on priority.
Joint surveys are being conducted to demarcate forest and revenue land in areas earlier granted to farmers, he said, adding that instructions have been issued to all deputy commissioners in the state to expedite the process.
Gowda said many farmers had faced problems as land granted to them earlier had not been formally regularised. The government has now taken up the task of completing the process. A special investigation team (SIT) will be constituted at the district level to identify forest and revenue land and submit a report in compliance with directions of the Supreme Court, he added.
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Between 2018 and 2023, plotting was completed for 1,948 beneficiaries in the district, while in the last two years, plotting under the 1-5 scheme was carried out for 60,943 beneficiaries, he said. Of these, 23,620 farmers have been issued pahani documents.
He said title deeds have been distributed to 2.20 lakh beneficiaries under the regularisation provisions of certain sections relating to house sites.
Under the e-Pouthi campaign, about 60,000 legal heirs have been granted mutation of land records that were earlier in the names of deceased persons, the minister said.
He also said a special drive has reduced cases pending for over two years in Tahsildar courts from 10,774 to 130, while similar cases in Assistant Commissioner courts have been brought down from 73,624 to 2,299.
Land records are now accessible online round-the-clock, eliminating the need for people to visit offices for certified copies, he said, adding that nearly 73 crore pages of revenue records across the state have been scanned at taluk offices in the past two years.
Gowda said taluk administrative offices have been named 'Praja Soudha' to bring governance closer to people. An additional Rs 1.60 crore has been sanctioned for compound construction and other facilities at the Mulki centre.
State Health and Family Welfare Minister and Dakshina Kannada district in-charge minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said efforts are being made to boost investment and tourism in the district.
He said the recent state budget has announced a Global Capability Centre for the district and steps will soon be taken to implement it.
A sum of Rs 70 crore has been sanctioned for a new OPD block at Wenlock District Hospital, while discussions are underway with three private medical colleges to strengthen clinical services at taluk hospitals in Moodbidri, Bantwal, Vitla and Belthangady.
Lok Sabha member Brijesh Chowta urged the revenue minister to resolve forest and revenue land issues in Puttur, Sullia, Kadaba and Belthangady taluks and said approval has been given for development of the national highway from Talapady to Kundapur with service roads on both sides.
