On February 12, Isaac Herzog—Israel’s current president and a former leader of the Labor party—gave a speech about the ongoing public debate over judicial reform, affirming the legitimacy of both sides’ concerns and urging leaders to find a lasting compromise. Such an intervention was an unusual step in a country where the president is for the most part a figurehead, expected to stay above the political fray, and indeed Herzog did his best to express himself in nonpartisan terms. Haviv Rettig Gur believes the speech had significant effects:

The speech didn’t spark a mad rush to compromise, but the political vocabulary changed instantly. Politicians who’d spent weeks showcasing their partisan bona fides now declared their eagerness for dialogue. . . . Justice Minister Yariv Levin [one of the architects of the proposed reforms], made a point of welcoming dialogue even as he explained why he wouldn’t slow the pace of legislation. . . . Under the public gaze directed his way by the president, he suddenly understood he needed to show he was rational and open to compromise.

On the center-left, the process was much the same. The demand to cancel the plan outright transformed into a demand for a temporary pause—[the opposition leader] Yair Lapid called for a 60-day freeze—to allow for serious negotiations.

There’s a reason Herzog’s speech had that effect, and it points to a surprising new role he has carved out for the Israeli presidency in his twenty months in the position, a role probably unprecedented in Israeli history. . . . One obvious example was his role in the revival of diplomatic ties with Turkey. In March 2022, Herzog traveled to Ankara for a state visit. He was received with unusual warmth by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a sharp change in tone from the years when Turkey was the de-facto leader of an anti-Israel, Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated axis in the region.

The visit was first and foremost a calculated geopolitical pivot for both Ankara and Jerusalem. But it was also a result of Herzog’s unexpectedly close ties with the Turkish president, the culmination of a long process of careful relationship-building on Herzog’s part that opened a channel of communication between the two men.

Yesterday, President Biden reportedly met with his advisers to discuss how to achieve a breakthrough in hostage negotiations. Meir Ben Shabbat takes a closer look at what the terrorists themselves are saying:

Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’s deputy chief in Gaza, reiterated that this issue is merely one of several demands his group has put forward as conditions for a deal. “We stress that any agreement must encompass a full cessation of hostilities, complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, including the Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah crossing [which allow Hamas to smuggle weapons and supplies from Egypt], unimpeded return of displaced persons to their homes, aid and relief for Palestinians, Gaza’s reconstruction, and a prisoner exchange,” al-Hayya stated.

This stance isn’t new. What stood out in its presentation was the self-assurance displayed by the senior Hamas official, during a week when he and his associates were expected to be on edge, fearing repercussions for the killing of six hostages. However, the reaction to this in Israel and the United States prompted an opposite response from them. From their perspective, not only did they avoid consequences for the heinous act, but through it, they managed to escalate tensions and internal disagreements in Israel, while also prompting Washington to consider presenting a framework defined as a “final offer, without room for negotiation.

Hamas assumes that a final American proposal will inevitably come at Israel’s expense. The primary pressure to reach an agreement is already being applied to Israeli leadership. Hamas faces no consequences for prolonging the process, and so long as it holds hostages, it can always resume negotiations from where they left off.