Leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Sami Abu Zuhri, said that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statements on Monday in Cairo regarding the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip are “biased with Israel” and that his position represents a “real obstacle” to reaching an agreement.
Abu Zuhri, who holds the position of head of the Hamas movement’s political department abroad, added, “Blinken’s speech during his visit to Cairo is an example of siding with Israel and providing American cover for the holocaust practiced by the occupation in Gaza. These positions are the real obstacle to reaching any agreement.”
In return, he urged the United States to put pressure on Israel to force it to end the ongoing war on Gaza for the eighth month in a row.
He said, “We call on the American administration to put pressure on the occupation to stop the war on Gaza, and the Hamas movement is ready to deal positively with any initiative that ensures an end to the war.”
It is worth noting that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called today from the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on the leaders of the region to put pressure on the Hamas movement to agree to the ceasefire proposal in Gaza, describing the movement as “the only obstacle” to this matter.
He said, “If you want a ceasefire, put pressure on Hamas to accept it. Hamas is the only one that did not accept the three-stage proposal, which includes releasing the hostages and holding talks to end the fighting.”
Eighth round
After Cairo, the first stop of his eighth tour of the region since the start of the Gaza War, Blinken will head later today to Israel, and will land during the week in Jordan and Qatar, as part of the US administration’s efforts to get all parties to accept reaching a ceasefire agreement.
His current visit aims to push for the approval of a three-stage “Israeli” ceasefire proposal revealed by US President Joe Biden at the end of last month.
Hamas announced that it viewed the proposal “positively”, stressing that it is ready to accept any agreement that achieves its basic demands of a ceasefire in Gaza and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Strip.