Active in gaza. Mediators have been waiting for hamas to respond to an israeli proposal to halt the fighting for a0 days and to exchange hostages for palestinian prisoners. But even if a deal is reached, israeli prme minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists there will be a fresh Military Offensive in rafah. There has been Widespread International concern that an Israeli Ground operation could endanger more than one million palestinians sheltering there. Our correspondent, anna foster, in jerusalem, has more on where negotiations stand as of saturday. Ive been watching in the regional media, various briefings, everything from saying were on the verge of an agreement the framework of an agreement everything through to israel saying no, they wont agree to a ceasefire to end the war permanently. The key thing at this point in time is this is the moment where we hear these briefings and hear Different Things from different sides but until we get some sort of official word, potentially from the egyptian mediators, in charge of the talks in cairo, really all of that is background noise. What we do know is that one key Sticking Point is the idea of a permanent ceasefire. Now, we know that is a key part of what hamas is asking for out of this deal, the idea that there would be eventual end to this war, rather than just a temporary ceasefire, while the exchange goes on. We know israel, equally, say that without a Ground Offensive in rafah, which Benjamin Netanyahu, the israeli Prime Minister, has been talking about for months, they say they cant deliver on the aim of fully removing hamas from gaza. They have been saying at the last few days even if there is a deal that Military Operation will go ahead. For more on this, i spoke to frank lowenstein, former us Special Envoy for Israeli Palestinian negotiations and former Senior Advisor to the secretary of state. Were hearing these efforts towards a ceasefire are intensifying. Of course, these have been going on for several weeks. Some mixed messages. The hamas delegation saying it was in positive spirits, but then today hearing that there havent been any significant steps forward. How optimistic are you that we could see a Ceasefire Deal agreed in the coming days or weeks . Well, i certainly think we have seen some encouraging signs in the last day or two from hamas. Previously they rejected the proposal outright, and now they are saying that they are looking at with positivity. But there are core issues to be resolved, particularly whether this will be permanent or not. On the one hand, you have Netanyahu Making Comments that they will do rafah, no matter what, and hamas saying that they need it to be permanent. Hamas could be posturing, and the israelis as well. How much do you think the Ground Invasion of rafah, the one likely to go ahead at least according to Prime Minister netanyahu how much is that hanging over negotiations . How much of a Sticking Point is it . Its absolutely it is the elephant in the room. From the United States perspective, this would result in far more civilian casualties, which we have been trying to avoid. It also domestic problems for biden as well. Bernie sanders said this could become another vietnam for him. So the Biden Administration has a lot of incentive to reach a ceasefire. Thats why we have really been pressing israel as much as we have. And pressuring hamas as well. We told the qataris we want them to throw the hamas Political Leadership out if they dont reach a ceasefire. Whether we will succeed or not is certainly an open question. How much urgency is there on the part of both hamas and israel and there is domestic pressure at home for Prime Minister netanyahu to get the Hostages Home but this has dragged on for many months. Is there enough for either side to really push for a deal, to really make some sort of concession . Thats a good question. What im concerned about is that we care about this more than either of the parties do. In 2014, when secretary kerry was negotiating a ceasefire between hamas and israel, we really pushed the parties hard to get the parties to agree to something they didnt want to agree to, and the ceasefire fell apart very quickly. If both sides feel really forced into something that they didnt otherwise want to do, it might not last. And that is the concern for the Biden Administration if the sides arent in a place where they want to get the result for their own domestic political reasons. Hamas think they are winning the war. They dont mind having thousands of Palestinian Civilians slaughtered to advance their aims. And i think netanyahu has concerns of his own. It isnt clear that either side really wants this. This took about what is going on in the us. We have seen massive protests arriving at us universities, coast to coast, really. Theres a lot of pressure right now on president biden. Is there more that the white house could be doing to try to get these two sides to agree on a Ceasefire Deal . I think we will see biden do everything he can to tamp the underlying cause of the protest movement, which is concern about what is going on in the ground in gaza. I think the only way well get the momentum out of these protests is a ceasefire, here, which would allow a lot of humanitarian assistance to get in, prevent a war with hezbollah, allow hostages to be released. There are a lot of things that would be positive for the president , politically, if we could get the fighting to stop. Also, it is important to remember that biden would still like to do this grand bargain of saudi normalisation of relations with israel. And he would like to make a speech, Jake Sullivan said today, either a two state solution, or continue to get the dark pather were on right now. He cant do that is the war is raging. I think you will see biden do everything again to get this over the line. We have just one last question. Were getting some details about what might be in the Ceasefire Deal. We havent seen the actual document but but there are discussions about an exchange of hostages for palestinian prisoners, conversations about allowing people to return to areas of the north of gaza. Do you think that the rumour details here would be enough to lay a foundation for a more lasting peace in the region . I think if they reached agreement on the core issue of whether this will be permanent and to the war or not and i think the United States hopes it would be that i think the other issues can be resolved. It is important to understand there is a devil in all of those details. Everyone of those is a Core Negotiating Point as far as israel and hamas is concerned. If what theyre looking for is a reason to buy the other side forfailure, the points can provide ample opportunity for either side to bail out and blame the other. Well see if either side is really interested in the ceasefire in the days ahead. 0k, frank lowenstein, former us Special Envoy for Israeli Palestinian negotiations. Thank you very much. Thanks for having me. Anti war protests at us colleges continued on saturday, some conflicting with graduation ceremonies. Ro palestinian demonstrators interrupted a Graduation Ceremony at the University Of Michigan. Some graduates held palestinian flags while Chanting Slogans in the packed stadium. Amid growing demonstrations over the war in gaza, more universities are bracing for disruptions at graduation ceremonies. Meanwhile, police at the University Of Virginia tore down tents and cleared out protesters after declaring the encampment was an Unlawful Assembly and Columbia University in new york is rethinking its commencement plans. More than a0 Us College Campuses have seen Student Protests or encampments over the past two weeks. Earlier i spoke to neal mccluskey, director of the kato institute� s centre for educational freedom. Disruptions at the University Of Michigan during the Graduation Ceremony. What do you make of it overall . We have seen dozens of universities with these protests. How do you think theyre balancing the rights of Freedom Of Speech on campus, freedoms of expression, with concerns about safety . Yeah, well, i think every campus is different, every state where a lot of these things is happening is different. And its a difficult line to draw. Different institutions draw on different places. Generally, though, i dont think we have seen a lot of colleges that have had really over the top police responses. I think theyve tried to let the protesters speak. They often allow them to have their encampments. But they do say you cant interrupt something really important you cant interrupt education, you cant interrupt graduation, especially considering a lot of people graduate now missed a lot of college because of covid, and would at least like to end with normalcy. So theyre trying hard to make this balance of continuing to operate as an institution while allowing you to speak. And then there is the bigger question of some states, where there are Public College universities, governors, sometimes legislatures, will say, well, we need to be stricter with Police Coming in and breaking these things up, and then gets a bit more dicey. We saw the governor of texas bringing in troopers very quickly to demonstrations there. Universities have always, of course, been thought to be places of open discussion, of scholarly classes, of really digging in on some difficult topics like the war, currently, in the middle east. Do you think the universities are struggling to do that right now . Are they not able to engage with this topic in a way that relates more towards towards towards classes or studies . Yeah, i mean, clearly, with the protests and the encampments, there are difficulties. Ucla had a clash of protesters that got really ugly. And thats the worst case scenario. I think what we have seen is protesters saying what they want to say, making statements, making, you know, a big production out of what they want. I havent seen a whole lot of it lead to constructive dialogue. But i think probably if you go into universities and you go into the domitories, you go into the classes, you are probably seeing kids more engaged with this on a one on one Free Exchange of ideas. Protests arent always about lets get together with people we disagree with. Local Election Results in england came in thick and fast satuday and the news was grim for uk Prime Minister rishi sunak and his conservative party. The most shocking result was in the West Midlands, centred on the uks second largest city, birmingham, where two term conservative mayor andy street lost to Richard Parker from the opposition labour party. The bbc� s Political Editor chris mason reports. How are you feeling, andy . We will see. Out of his hands. The Conservative Andy Street arrived here at lunchtime, awaiting the verdict of voters. It was to be a long wait for mr street and his labour rival, Richard Parker. Votes rechecked, a recount in coventry, and this result in the last hour or so. The number of votes recorded for each. Weve waited all day for this moment. Its happening now. The result. And i do hereby declare that Richard Parker. Cheering this is the most important thing i will ever do. This week, people here voted for the person and the party. They recognise that a labour mayor can make a positive difference in this region. So where do i go . A winner and a loser and the finest of margins. Mr street, commiserations. What do you put your loss down to . Very straightforward, chris, isnt it . We didnt persuade enough people across the West Midlands of our record and our plans for the future to give them confidence to go and vote on thursday. Ive always said it was my campaign and we didnt get over the line. Very straightforward. Bluntly, is Rishi Sunakto blame . No, this was my campaign. Idid it. The famous words. I did it my way, and it was always going to be like that. And in the end it wasnt quite enough. But ill tell you what, it was bloody close excuse my language and no one would have expected that. To be clear, do you want rishi sunak to lead the conservatives into the general election . Yes, there is. It would be complete madness to have another moment of introspection. Khan, sadiq labour party. Elsewhere, labours sadiq khan has won again in london. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you, london. Its the honour of my life to serve the city that i love. Therefore, i declare that andy burnham is duly elected as the mayor of the Greater Manchester combined authority. There was another Labour Victory in Greater Manchester. It has been hard to keep Greater Manchester moving forward when the country has been going backwards, but we have managed it, and our economy is growing faster than the uks. Labour also won in liverpool, salford, South Yorkshire and west yorkshire. But the eye catching result today is in the West Midlands. Chris mason, bbc news in birmingham. Well, lets now take a closer look at all the results almost all of them are now in and find out what they tell us about the state of the parties fortunes as we approach a general election. Heres nick eardley. As you can see, its a real knife edge. Just 1500 votes between the Labour Victor and andy street for the conservatives, despite the fact that more than half a million votes were cast. In terms of percentages, this is how it shakes out, 37. 8 and 37. 5. Note the i2 , that was an independent candidate, critical of labours policy on the war in gaza, and despite that labour did manage to just make it through. Let me show you on the next slide how things have changed. The labour vote is actually down a wee bit. The conservative vote is down so much, ii , that has allowed labour to take the West Midlands, and finally let me just quickly show you the swing that we got there, 4. 6 from the conservatives to labour, enough to get them over the line. It wasnt just the West Midlands, though. As we were just hearing from chris, london today as well. Sadiq khan being returned for a third term, the margin there was a lot bigger, 275,000 votes in it in the end, and this is why. Let me show you the swing quickly. Its a big one, 3. 2 conservative to labour, and that matters because the conservatives were hoping to close the gap with labour in london, but the opposite has happened. As you can see there. Across the country, across england, we have now got a pretty good picture. 106 of 107 councils have declared, and here is how it looks. Labour up 185, a good result for them. The conservatives down 473, theyve lost almost half of all the seats they were defending on thursday. Thats a really bad result. As you can see, the lib dems on thursdays results have just overtaken them. It is worth pointing out down here as well the greens are up 7a. And finally this, this is what they will study in the Party Headquarters and what it might mean for a general election. Look at that. Conservative vote right down, 12 . The lib dem up 2 , the greens up too, but they will be quenching where the 3 is. They sound confident that it is in the right places, the places they need to win if they are going to win the white house will reportedly send 60 million worth of military aid to haiti, to help its new government re assert control over gangs. The report from the News Outlet Politico has not been independently verified by the bbc. It says the us will send most of the aid to haitis national police, and is likely to include vehicles, firearms, ammunition and surveillance drones. Haitis Transitional Council appointed the former senate leader, Edgard Leblanc fils as its president on tuesday. The Transitional Council replaces ariel henry, who resigned as Prime Minister amid spiralling violence. Hundreds of thousands of haitians have been displaced as gangs control an estima