Show an ad over header. AMP

Gaza ceasefire under strain as Israel and Hamas feud over rebuilding

23 June 2021
Dan Ackermann

The indirect talks between Israel and Hamas to stabilize the ceasefire in Gaza and begin the reconstruction process have made little progress, raising concerns of renewed violence.

State of play: Five weeks on from the ceasefire, Israel is threatening to hold up the reconstruction process, and Hamas this week rejected a UN plan to fund it, Israeli officials and Western diplomats tell me.

The backstory: After the ceasefire, both Israel and Hamas committed to engage in longer-term stabilization and reconstruction talks mediated by Egypt and the UN.

  • But the violence threatened to escalate again last week when incendiary balloons were launched toward Israel, which responded with air strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza. There were no casualties.
  • There's also Israel's vow to block the reconstruction process in Gaza unless progress is made on the return of two Israeli prisoners and the remains of two Israeli soldiers held by Hamas.
  • An Israeli delegation reiterated that position to Egyptian intelligence officials in Cairo last Thursday, Israeli officials tell me.

But the main stumbling block at the moment is the transfer of Qatari funds to Gaza.

  • Since 2018, Qatar has been providing $30-60 million in cash each month to Hamas to fund the governing of Gaza. Qatar has also pledged $500 million for the reconstruction.
  • After last month's fighting, Israel asked the UN to develop a mechanism to ensure the funds go toward humanitarian purposes and not to re-arm Hamas.

Behind the scenes: On Monday, UN envoy Tor Wennesland met with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza and presented him with the new mechanism.

  • Sinwar rejected the proposal and the meeting grew contentious, Western diplomats briefed on the meeting say.

What they're saying:

  • Afterward, Sinwar called the proposal unacceptable and said Israel was using the humanitarian situation in Gaza to blackmail Hamas.
  • The Western diplomats say Sinwar rejected the proposal because he wants to continue controlling the Qatari money and to receive it in cash.
“Sinwar thinks he won the war and is making demands. He will not get control of the money and, if he continues rejecting the proposals he gets, he is at risk of getting Israeli F-35s again."
Western diplomat to Axios

What to watch: Israeli officials are concerned that the current deadlock is making a renewed conflict more likely every day. Hamas officials, including Sinwar, have issued similar warnings.

  • The Egyptians are trying to convene indirect talks between Israel and Hamas in Cairo next week to buy more time for diplomacy, Israeli officials say.

Worth noting: The Israelis have agreed to an Egyptian confidence-building proposal to allow the export of goods from Gaza to Israel and the West Bank for the first time since the conflict.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

Section2

Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.