Although US Sees Potential for Improvement, Israeli PM Netanyahu Labels Hamas Ceasefire Proposal "Delusional."
Hamas offers a truce, but Netanyahu refuses it; Blinken sees room for compromise. The ongoing Israel-Gaza confrontation puts civilian lives at danger
Share on:
Even though the US still thinks there is hope for negotiations to reach a resolution, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has turned down Hamas' most recent offer for a truce and the release of captives held in the Gaza Strip.
The terrorist organization that controls Gaza, Hamas, offered a 4-1/2-month cease-fire that would see the release of all hostages, Israel's troop withdrawal from Gaza, and the signing of a cease-fire agreement. The offer from Hamas was in response to a previous plan drafted by Israeli and US espionage chiefs and given to Hamas by mediators from Qatar and Egypt last week.
"DELUSIVE"
Netanyahu reiterated his vow to crush the Islamist movement, branding Hamas' position as "delusional," and claimed that Israel has no choice but to bring about its downfall. "Hamas is the day following the day after. During a news conference, he declared that the only way to end the four-month-old Gaza conflict was to completely defeat Hamas. "The hostages' release is contingent upon sustained military pressure," Netanyahu declared.
However, remarks made by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken after a meeting with Netanyahu indicated that negotiating a ceasefire was still possible. At a late-night press appearance in a Tel Aviv hotel, Blinken declared, "There are clearly nonstarters in what (Hamas has) put forward," though he did not elaborate on what the nonstarters were. However, we also see room in the revised text to continue discussions and try to reach a consensus. That's our plan of action.
THE CRISIS TOUR OF BLINKEN:
Blinken met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Wednesday, as well as the leaders of Qatar and Egypt on Tuesday. Sami Abu Zuhri, a top Hamas official, called Netanyahu's comments "political bravado," indicating that the Israeli leader intended to intensify regional war. A delegation from Hamas, headed by senior official Khalil Al-Hayya, will meet with mediators Egypt and Qatar on Thursday in Cairo to discuss a truce, according to Osama Hamdan, another Hamas official. Hamdan urged the armed Palestinian factions to continue their combat.
After Hamas militants from Gaza killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 253 in southern Israel on October 7, Israel launched its military campaign. According to Gaza's health ministry, at least 27,585 Palestinian deaths have been verified. To date, there has only been one week-long truce at the end of November. Previously, Israel has declared that it would not withdraw its forces from Gaza or call off the war until Hamas was destroyed. However, sources with knowledge of the negotiations said that Hamas was adopting a new, three-phase strategy to address its long-standing demand to end the conflict, putting it forward as a matter to be settled in future discussions as opposed to a requirement for the truce.
The hostage and truce agreement have been portrayed by the Biden administration as components of larger plans for resolving the Middle East issue, which will eventually result in peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors and the establishment of a Palestinian state. Netanyahu opposes the creation of a Palestinian state, which the kingdom claims is necessary in order to restore relations with Israel. Israel has made an effort to take control of Khan Younis, the capital of southern Gaza. The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated on Wednesday that Israel's announcement last week that it intended to storm Rafah would "exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare with untold regional consequences."
