All roads lead to Rome, even those of professional spies. On Sunday 28 July 2024, the Capital will host a high-level meeting among the main international actors involved in the Gaza crisis. The summit will see the participation of key figures in the industry panorama security and international diplomacy: the director of Co., William Burns; the head of Mossad, David Barnea; The Prime Minister of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdel Rahman al-Thani and the head ofEgyptian intelligence, Abbas Kamal. The main objective of this meeting is to discuss and try to finalize a ceasefire agreement and the release of hostages held by Hamas. This last step seems difficult given that the head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar and General Nitzan Alon, responsible for the hostages, will not participate in the spy summit.
The meeting in Rome follows previous discussions in Paris and Egypt. The choice of the Italian capital also reflects the increase in role of Italian diplomacy, which has recently intensified through the “Food for Gaza” initiative, also mentioned during the recent G7 foreign trade meeting in Reggio Calabria.
Will it be possible to reach an agreement? Expectations for a decisive breakthrough during this meeting are low, given the continuation hardening of Israeli positions and the complexity of the requests. An Israeli official said a breakthrough is not expected in Rome, as Biden's pressure has not persuaded Netanyahu to soften his demands. Currently, the Israeli prime minister appears unwilling to make concessions, which could lead to a crisis in the negotiations rather than an agreement.
“Netanyahu wants an impossible agreement, at the moment he is not willing to move and therefore we could face a crisis in the negotiations rather than an agreement,” explained the Israeli sources.
Netanyahu's demands
According to Israeli sources, Sunday's meeting will focus on strategy and not on specific details of the negotiation. The situation is made more complex by Netanyahu's new demands and the growing concern about the risk of a failure of the negotiations. The Israeli prime minister advanced new demands for negotiation, including establishing a monitoring mechanism for the movement of Palestinian weapons and militants and maintaining Israeli control of the “Philadelphia Corridor” between Gaza and Egypt.
La pressure from Biden about Netanyahu it did not lead to concessions by the Israeli prime minister, who continues to ask for conditions that could make it impossible to reach an agreement. Netanyahu has promised to present an updated proposal, but Biden's advisers are not sure whether Netanyahu is actually seeking a deal or is just trying to buy time. Israeli officials fear that Netanyahu's new demands could lead to one crisis in negotiations. Bibi's speech to Congress disappointed the hostages' families, who were hoping for a concrete commitment to a ceasefire.
Australia, Canada and New Zealand call for ceasefire
Meanwhile comes a yet another appeal to stop the blood in the Strip. Australia, Canada and New Zealand have launched a heartfelt appeal for a immediate ceasefire in Gaza, calling the situation “catastrophic” and the human suffering “unacceptable.” In a joint statement, the prime ministers of the three countries strongly condemned Hamas for the October 7 attacks, but also urged Israel to "listen to the concerns of the international community."
The three countries underlined that "the protection of civilians is fundamental" and that "Palestinian civilians cannot be forced to pay the price for the defeat of Hamas". They expressed full support for the ceasefire agreement outlined by President Biden and approved by the UN Security Council, warning that “any delay will only see more lives lost”.
The appeal also includes a request for Israel to “substantially respond” to the opinion of the International Court of Justice and to “reverse the record expansion of settlements in the West Bank”. The three countries said they were "seriously concerned" about the risk of further regional escalation, condemning the Iranian attack on Israel and calling for a cessation of hostilities along the Lebanese border.