1/6/2024–|Last updated: 6/1/202410:42 AM (Mecca time)
Yesterday, Friday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called on his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Turkey to put pressure on the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) to push it to accept the new Israeli road map announced by President Joe Biden to stop the war in the Gaza Strip.
The Axios news website also quoted Israeli and American officials as saying that the “Israeli proposal” presented by Biden has exhausted Israel’s margin of flexibility, and that its goal is to mobilize international support for the proposal and put pressure on Hamas.
Officials stressed that if Hamas rejects the proposal, a ceasefire will be off the table and the crisis in Gaza is likely to escalate.
They added, “The matter now depends on Hamas and whether it will return to negotiation or not. For Biden, this is the most feasible path to open the way for an exit strategy from the war.”
roadmap
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that, on his way back from a NATO meeting in the Czech capital, Prague, Blinken made phone calls with his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Turkey, during which he stressed that “Hamas must accept the agreement without delay.”
Blinken stressed that “the proposal is in the interest of the Israelis and Palestinians, and in the interest of the region’s long-term security.”
Yesterday, Friday, Biden announced – in a speech – that Israel had presented a new “road map” towards permanent peace in Gaza, calling on Hamas to accept the agreement because “the time has come for this war to end.”
He added that this road map, which was presented to Hamas on Thursday via Qatar, represents an opportunity that should not be “missed.”
He explained that the first phase, which will last 6 weeks, includes “a complete and complete ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas in Gaza, the release of a number of hostages, including women, the elderly and the wounded, and in return the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.”
He pointed out that the Israeli and Palestinian sides will negotiate a permanent ceasefire during those six weeks, but the truce will continue if the talks remain ongoing.
In its first comment, Hamas announced that it viewed positively the proposal for a permanent ceasefire and the occupation’s withdrawal from Gaza.
She said – in a statement – that the American position and the conviction established in the regional and international arena of the necessity of putting an end to the war is the result of the steadfastness of the Palestinian people, stressing its position in dealing positively with any proposal based on a permanent ceasefire and complete withdrawal from Gaza.
Continue the war
On the other hand, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is determined not to end the war until all its goals are achieved.
He added, “Netanyahu assigned the negotiating team to provide broad outlines to achieve the goal of returning the kidnapped,” noting that “these broad outlines allow for a conditional transition from one stage to another in a way that preserves our principles.”
Israeli Channel 12 also quoted an unnamed Israeli official, saying, “Biden does not understand the reality here, and his speech is weak and represents a victory for Hamas.”
For the eighth month in a row, Israel continues its devastating war on the Gaza Strip, despite international efforts by mediators (Qatar, Egypt, and the United States) to bring the two sides of the conflict closer and establish a ceasefire. To date, the Israeli aggression has caused the death and injury of tens of thousands of Palestinians, most of them women and children, and in famine and an unprecedented humanitarian and health crisis, according to international and UN reports.