According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Israel has approved a plan to close gaps in the ceasefire talks; Hamas must now accept it in order for more talks, which are anticipated to happen later this week, to proceed.
At a press conference in Tel Aviv, Blinken stated, “The next important statement is for Hamas to say yes, and then, in the coming days, for all of the expert negotiators to get together to work on clear understandings on implementing the agreement.”
Even though Netanyahu is said to have agreed to the bridging plan, there are still a lot of obstacles to overcome before a deal can be made. Not only has Hamas rejected the plan, but the specifics of how an agreement would be carried out are still being worked out by the negotiators. According to the top US ambassador, they are also trying to create “clear understandings on how the different parties are going to make good on their commitments.”
Blinken claimed that the effort to complete a ceasefire and hostage agreement in Gaza had reached a “decisive moment” prior to his discussions with Israeli authorities on Monday. He was in Israel before continuing on to Egypt and Qatar on Tuesday.
Speaking alongside Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv before to their meeting, Blinken stated that this is “probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a ceasefire and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security.”
Blinken declared, “It’s time for everyone to say yes and stop looking for reasons to say no.” “It needs to be finished now. Additionally, it’s time to ensure that nobody takes
Blinken emphasized the seriousness of the situation during his press conference, pointing out that “intervening events come along that may make things even more difficult, if not impossible.”
We’ve seen that throughout the process, which is why the present is so desperately urgent,” he stated.
Following a three-hour meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the senior US diplomat earlier on Monday in Jerusalem, Blinken and the Israeli prime minister’s office announced that Israel had accepted the bridging plan. The meeting was deemed constructive by both parties. According to Blinken, Netanyahu pledged to dispatch senior negotiators to either Qatar or Egypt in order to “complete this process.”
The contents of the “bridging proposal” are not entirely apparent. This past week, after two days of intense negotiations in Doha, the US proposed it with the backing of Qatar and Egypt. In response to reports that the death toll in Gaza since October has reportedly reached 40,000 people—a dismal number that highlights 10 months of suffering, malnutrition, and despair in the Palestinian enclave during Israel’s war with Hamas—the mediators have reportedly been intensifying their efforts. This comes as the Middle East prepares for a potential Iranian attack on Israel.
Regarding the possibility that an agreement is still far off, Netanyahu and Hamas exchanged insults on Sunday night. According to Hamas, the request was turned down.
Among other things, Hamas claimed that the most recent proposal added new restrictions on the exchange of prisoners and did not call for a lasting ceasefire.
The group accused Netanyahu of “obstructing” the negotiations and restated its intention to implement US President Joe Biden’s three-pronged proposal, which calls for the release of Palestinian prisoners detained in Israel, a “full and complete ceasefire,” and the release of hostages from Gaza. Advocates were urged to “compel the occupation to implement” the strategy through mediation.
Retaliating, Netanyahu declared that Israel will not “give in to Hamas’s demand” to end the Gaza War in exchange for a compromise.
According to a statement released by his office on Sunday, “the Prime Minister has strongly insisted on this fundamental demand, which is vital to achieving the goals of the war, and Hamas changed its position.” “The Prime Minister will persist in striving towards a resolution that will optimize the quantity of captives still alive and facilitate the accomplishment of all combat goals.”
Blinken stated he could not “speculate on exactly what Hamas’s intentions are” during his news conference on Monday, but he anticipated finding out more during his talks with officials from Qatar and Egypt on Tuesday.
He remarked, “We have seen public statements, but in the past, we have seen public statements that don’t fully reflect where Hamas is.”
Other major grounds of contention in the negotiations are Israel’s insistence on maintaining control over the border between Gaza and Egypt, exercising a veto over the release of Palestinian prisoners, and obstructing the passage of armed men from the southern to the northern parts of Gaza.
