US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken stressed the positive aspects of the ceasefire proposal for Israel, while there were conflicting statements about Tel Aviv’s position on the proposal.
The US State Department said early Monday that Blinken held two separate calls with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Minister in the War Council Benny Gantz regarding the ceasefire agreement proposal that President Joe Biden revealed last Friday.
The ministry added in a statement that the Foreign Minister told Gallant that the agreement includes greater integration of Israel in the region and enhances its security interests in the long term.
In a separate call, Blinken reviewed with Gantz the security benefits for Israel if it agreed to the proposal, which is essentially Israeli.
The US State Department stated that Blinken stressed to the Israeli War Council member that Hamas must accept the proposal without delay.
Yesterday, the Coordinator for Strategic Affairs at the US National Security Council, John Kirby, expressed Washington’s hope that Hamas would agree to the proposal and begin implementing its first phase.
Kirby added in an interview with the American ABC network that while the first phase of the agreement, which extends for 6 weeks, is being implemented without fighting, Hamas and Israel will negotiate the implementation of the second phase.
The American official also said that if Hamas agrees to the proposal announced by President Joe Biden, all expectations of the US administration indicate that Israel will agree to it in turn.
The Hamas movement announced that it was dealing positively with the ideas presented by the American President and considered them a general framework, and stressed the necessity of achieving this by reaching a complete agreement that includes a ceasefire, Israeli withdrawal, and relief and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
Conflicting statements
Meanwhile, last night, the Israeli War Council held a meeting to discuss the possible exchange deal, amid conflicting news about Tel Aviv’s position on the proposal on the table to conclude an agreement after the US President announced its details.
At a time when the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said that the Israeli negotiating team withheld the details of the proposal from the Ministerial Council for fear of its contents being leaked, the American CBS network quoted an Israeli official as saying that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the War Council had agreed to the proposal but were waiting for Hamas’ response.
However, the Broadcasting Corporation reported, in return, that Netanyahu promised his coalition partners that there would be no end to the war, and it also said that the Prime Minister’s statements confirm that he will not agree to a permanent ceasefire without fulfilling the conditions.
It revealed that Netanyahu informed his coalition partners that the chances of reaching an agreement with Hamas are low, and that US President Joe Biden did not present the real conditions that Israel agreed to within the framework of the negotiations.
For its part, Israeli Channel 13 quoted high-ranking officials in the Likud Party led by Netanyahu, that the latter would not be able to pass the agreement proposal announced by Biden, because this step would lead to the collapse of the government, and that if Hamas responded positively to the proposal, Netanyahu will find a way to evade or delay through conflicting statements or repeating what he has already agreed to.
In this context, Israeli Channel 7 quoted National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir threatening again that if Netanyahu continued on the path of concluding the deal, he would dissolve the government. Other members of the government, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, made a similar threat.
Regarding the discussions within the War Council, which approved the Israeli proposal, Israeli Channel 12 quoted its officials as saying that the Council is studying the proposal that Israel not wait for Hamas’ response, and take proactive steps to ensure a deal is reached.
The channel said that officials at the War Council will propose starting talks and taking steps in terms of humanitarian aid. According to the same source, officials in the war council expressed their fear that efforts to reach a deal would be harmed while waiting for Hamas’ response.
Continuing protests
Regarding the Israeli movement demanding the release of prisoners, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that protesters gathered last night in front of the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in occupied Jerusalem, to demand the conclusion of the exchange deal revealed by the American President.
Demonstrators also gathered in Tel Aviv, raising banners reading “Deal Now” and other banners bearing pictures of Israeli prisoners in Gaza.
For its part, Israeli Army Radio said that residents of the Nir Oz settlement, from which 77 people were detained on October 7, called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to approve the swap deal proposal.
The Associated Press also quoted family members of Israeli prisoners as saying that time is running out and that the proposed deal may be the last chance, and they called on the Israeli leadership not to disappoint them.
The families of the prisoners accused the Israeli government of doing too much to delay reaching an agreement, which cost the lives of many hostages.
The Israeli government estimates the number of detainees in Gaza at about 125, and it has announced the recovery of the bodies of a number of prisoners who were killed during the past eight months.
