Israel Abrogates Ceasefire Framework with Gaza Siege

(WASHINGTON, DC) — In response to Israel’s imposition of a full siege on Gaza and refusal to proceed with the ceasefire and hostage release framework agreed in January, Center for International Policy executive vice-president Matt Duss issued the following statement:

“Israel is refusing to proceed to the second phase of the three-phase ceasefire and hostage release framework it agreed to with Hamas in the final days of the Biden Administration. 

“Rather than abide by this framework to ensure the release of all remaining living hostages and an end to the Gaza war, Israel has instituted a full siege on the territory, blocking all humanitarian aid and other goods in violation of U.S. and international law.

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly signaled his unwillingness to fully adhere to the January agreement, which he had resisted accepting for more than half a year. Now emboldened by President Donald Trump’s unconscionable proposal to forcibly displace the population of Gaza and ‘take over’ the territory, Netanyahu is resuming the starvation of its people and threatening the resumption of full-scale hostilities.

“Meanwhile, the Trump administration is speeding billions of dollars in new high-yield bombs to Israel as it not only threatens ethnic cleansing in Gaza, but turns a blind eye to Israel’s open forcible displacement of Palestinian civilians from entire swaths of the West Bank. In stark contrast to a promising start in facilitating the three-phase framework in January, Trump now risks reigniting a horrific war that will not only put his entire diplomatic agenda for the Middle East in jeopardy, but bring untold further suffering to millions.

“U.S. lawmakers and the international community must press Israel to end its renewed siege of Gaza and take all available steps to avert the resumption of fighting in the territory. This is a dangerous moment in world events when expansionist national leaders are increasingly willing to obliterate international law and countless lives to achieve their ambitions. Trump’s support for Netanyahu’s abrogation of the Gaza ceasefire framework further undermines confidence in the United States’s ability to broker and stand by international agreements, including in the context of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. With the American President on the side of annexationists and autocrats, those who seek peace must be consistent in defending human security and the rule of law.”