‘Uncommitted’ movement: Biden’s Israel road map ‘will likely fall flat,’ calls for permanent cease-fire

The national “uncommitted” campaign pushing for protest votes against President Biden in the White House race says his endorsement of a new Israeli proposal for a cease-fire in Gaza is a “welcome development” but “will likely fall flat.”

On Friday, Biden announced the terms of a three-phase, Israeli-led plan toward ending the fighting and releasing all hostages, a major step toward a potential end to the war. He said the proposal has been transmitted via Qatar to Hamas, the U.S.-designated terrorist organization that runs the Gaza Strip. 

“Biden’s endorsement of a six-week ceasefire is a welcome development, but will likely fall flat as long as he arms [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s war crimes. We need a permanent ceasefire now,” Layla Elabed, spokesperson for the uncommitted movement, said in a statement. 

Biden’s calls for Netanyahu to accept the deal shows he’s “slowly grasping the political fallout of his backing of Israel’s horrific assault on Gaza,” but it isn’t enough, Elabed said. 

The uncommitted movement, which grew out of a push in Michigan to urge Biden toward a cease-fire call, has siphoned votes from the president in several state Democratic primaries. 

Progressives and Muslim Americans are frustrated over the administration’s actions around the Israel-Hamas war, as Biden tries to balance supporting Israel’s right to defend itself and decrying the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The uncommitted vote scored at least five delegates in Kentucky’s Democratic primary earlier this month and is up to 30 delegates overall. Though that’s well below Biden’s 3,613 figure, it underscores the notable upset toward the presumptive Democratic nominee. 

“For months, Netanyahu has played Biden like a fiddle as the window to save lives — and the fate of American democracy — closes on all of us,” Elabed said. 

The first phase of the new Israeli proposal would include a six-week cease-fire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza, plus the release of a number of hostages — and work up to a “cessation of hostilities, permanently” in phase two, Biden announced Friday.

A major reconstruction plan for Gaza would start in the third and final phase.