Burns Flies to U.S., as Ceasefire Talks on Hold

May 10—America's most able diplomat, CIA Director William Burns has flown back to Washington to consult with President Sleepy Joe Biden, as he has hit the pause button on the ongoing talks between Israel and Hamas in Cairo to reach a hostage/ceasefire deal before Israel's bloodthirsty tyrant, Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu unleashes death and destruction on Gaza's last standing city, Rafah. Talks  had been expected to resume this weekend, but sources report that Israel has told Burns that they have nothing to talk about. Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces have ramped up operations in Gaza, with intense fighting reported today in certain neighborhoods and many dwelling destroyed by Israeli bombardment from both air and ground forces. Hamas has said that they will not talk to the Israelis as long as Rafah is under attack.

Israel has already placed the city under siege, controlling the entry point into Egypt and apparently trying to force civilians to exit towards northern Gaza. United Nations and other relief agencies report their supplies are running out in Rafah, as well as in the rest of Gaza, despite recent resupplies allowed to pass by the IDF; they also report that only around 100,000 of Rafah's more than 1 million inhabitants have left the city, with others migrating within its limits to areas not yet under IDF attack.

Burns had earlier flown to Israel May 8 to meet with Bibi to seek if he could prevent him from sabotaging the talks (see other dispatch), and offering a possible temporary deal to halt the  carnage in Rafah by trading a halt to further Israel Defense Force action in the area in exchange for a hostage release. Netanyahu, whose desire to lay waste to Gaza and kill a possible two state solution to the crisis is becoming more obvious by the day, did not accept or reject the idea, and reportedly agreed to halt, for the moment, a major assault on Rafah, but indicated that he would not show such restrain for long. Burns flew back to Cairo, where, in consultation with Egyptian and Oatari mediators, and the Hamas delegation, the talks were put on hold yesterday. The low level Israeli delegation, who had rejected any compromises, flew back to Israel and Hamas delegates returned to their headquarters in Doha. And Burns flew back to the United States.

Meanwhile, in an interview yesterday with CNN, President Joe Biden, urged the two sides to compromise and reach a deal. He also confirmed that he has ordered all arms shipments to Israel halted, and stated that the U.S. opposed any attack on Rafah. Israel must recognize that it now must deal diplomatically with its desire to eliminate future threats from Hamas, while not continuing a war that will kill thousands more innocent Palestinians.

While Israel clearly has enough weapons and munitions to launch Bibi’s planned full attack on Rafah, the IDF, according to Haaretz, has told Netanyahu that the halt in the U.S. supply chain of weapons and munitions will seriously threaten the IDF’s ability to conduct operations elsewhere, and endangers Israel’s overall security. They demanded that Netanyahu come to an understanding with Biden that averts this crisis. Other sources have reported that the IDF as well as Israeli intelligence agencies have told Bibi that the assault on Rafah will not only not wipe out Hamas, but may make them politically stronger, while hurting Israel in its relations with its traditional allies, most notably the United States.

“This is a big deal,” one source stated. “If the military establishment turns on him, then it is over for Bibi—perhaps in more ways than might be obvious. Two nights ago, on Bibi’s order, Israeli police used their batons on the family members of the hostages, beating them on national television, as they protested against the government. This is unprecedented and a disgrace. Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, denounced the acts and called for Bibi to resign. In the end, it must be the people of Israel that rise up and end this war and prevent the tragedy that Rafah will otherwise be. That’s what former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said, and he is right.”