New Delhi, June 15 -- not Russia, because Israel says so.

"We have consistently advocated for Russia to become one of the mediators in the conflict between the Palestinian resistance led by Hamas and Israel," Abu Marzouk told RIA Novosti on the sidelines of diplomatic meetings in Moscow, "but the Israeli side has consistently rejected this proposal."

The statement is short. Its implications are not. At the core of every ceasefire negotiation is a question that rarely surfaces in official communiques: who decides which parties get to sit at the table? Abu Marzouk's answer - Israel decides - exposes a structural constraint that has shaped, and stunted, every round of Gaza mediation since October 2023. The party that brought about the huma...