During his most recent trip to the Middle East, US secretary of state Antony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and demanded acceptance of a cease-fire plan that faced fresh confusion following Israel’s prisoner evacuation operation that resulted in the death of many Palestinians and the upheaval in Netanyahu’s state.
Blinken met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt, a key negotiator with the violent Hamas party, and received his seventh visit to the place since the conflict started in October, with no clear common response from Hamas or Israel to the suggestion they received 10 days ago. After that, he flew to Israel to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Blinken again more demanded that Hamas accept the program, which he claimed had widespread support internationally.
Before leaving Cairo on a trip that will also get him to Jordan and Qatar, he said to writers,” If you want a begin -fire, hit Hamas to say “yes.” Blinken said Israel has accepted the proposal, though Netanyahu has expressed suspicion.
” I know that there are those who are skeptical about the leads”, Blinken said, putting the onus on Hamas. ” That’s natural. Has continued to exhibit extraordinary cynicism in its actions, showing a disinterest in Palestinians ‘ and Israelis ‘ well-being as well as its own.
While President Joe Biden, Blinken, and other US authorities have praised the evacuation of four Israeli victims on Saturday, the procedure resulted in the deaths of 274 Israeli civilians. This may aggravate the push to end the conflict that started with Hamas ‘ October 7 strike in Israel.
Blinken claimed that the plan is the” single best way” to bring the hostages back to a standstill, ease hostility, and enhance regional security.
Blinken also discussed plans for post-conflict governance and reconstruction in Gaza during his discussions with el-Sissi.
” It’s imperative that there be a plan, and that has to involve security, it has to involve governance, it has to involve reconstruction”, Blinken said.
Netanyahu and his administration have resisted requests for a “day after” plan that would forbid Israel from operating a security presence in the area. Blinken vowed to press Israel to come up with alternative plans that would be acceptable.
” It would be very good if Israel put forth its own ideas on this, and I’ll be talking to the government about that,” he said. ” But one way or another, we’ve got to have these plans, we’ve got to have them in place, we’ve got to be ready to go if we want to take advantage of a cease- fire”.
According to an American-drafted resolution submitted to the U.N. Security Council, the three-phase plan calls for the release of more hostages and a temporary pause in hostilities that will last as long as it takes. In Gaza, reconstruction is necessary for the third phase.
The resolution, which welcomes the proposal and urges Hamas to accept it, will be cast on Monday for a vote in the Security Council.
But Hamas may not be the only obstacle.
Netanyahu has expressed skepticism, saying that what has been presented in the media is inaccurate and that Israel is still committed to destroying Hamas, despite the fact that the deal has been described as an Israeli initiative and thousands of Israelis have demonstrated support for it.
If Netanyahu implements the plan, his far-right allies have threatened to demolish his government. Popular centrist Benny Gantz resigned from the three-member War Cabinet on Sunday, saying he would do so if the prime minister did not come up with a new plan for postwar Gaza.
Netanyahu had urged him not to step down following the hostage rescue.
On nearly all of his previous trips to Israel, Blinken has met with Netanyahu, defense minister Yoav Gallant, Gantz, and Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid. Blinken is scheduled to meet with Gantz on Tuesday, according to officials.
Despite Blinken’s roughly once per month visits to the area since the start of the war, the conflict has gotten worse with more than 37 Palestinians killed, according to the Gaza health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its counts. Hamas and other militants killed some 1, 200 people in the October 7 attack, mostly civilians, and took around 250 people hostage.
The Palestinians in Gaza are facing widespread hunger, and the war has severely hampered the flow of food, medicine, and other supplies. More than 1 million people in the territory are expected to experience the highest level of starvation by the middle of July, according to UN agencies.
Blinken will participate in a crucial international conference to improve the flow of aid to Gaza in Jordan.
