Blinken: Certain Hamas Changes to Gaza Ceasefire Proposal ‘Unworkable’
Antony Blinken, the United States Secretary of State, has noted that some of the changes to the US peace proposal offered to Hamas for Gaza are not feasible; however, negotiations for the cease-fire continue.
Echoing Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani at a joint press conference in Doha on Wednesday, Blinken said the killing will persist because of Hamas’ reaction.
‘Hamas has suggested many alterations to the proposal that was on the table. We deliberated on those changes last night with Egyptian counterparts and today with the prime minister,” Blinken said. ‘’Some changes have to do with workability; some do not. ’’
The US plan was submitted at the end of last month and intended to build a ‘lasting’ ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Hamas joined Palestinian Islamic Jihad and handed the response on Tuesday, terming it as ‘responsible’ and ‘positive. ’
”The response gives priority to the interest of our Palestinian people, the need to halt the ongoing aggression on Gaza in every possible way and to evacuate [the Israeli forces] out of the entire Gaza Strip,” the group said.
When President Joe Biden declared a faceted plan on May 31 regarding a cease-fire, phases in the proposal also included the Israeli forces from Gaza and permanent no-war. However, the position of Hamas and the US proposal still lacks harmony, where the following are not clear;
On Tuesday, Blinken blamed Hamas for the failure to reach an agreement, stating, “A deal was on the table that was virtually identical to a proposal that Hamas put forward on May 6 – a deal that the entire world is behind, a deal Israel has accepted. And Hamas could have answered with a single word: ‘course, ‘thank you very much. ’
“Rather, Hamas held back for almost two weeks and then offered additional alterations, many of which extend beyond stances the group has held and endorsed,” Blinken put in.
In response, Hamas official Taher Al-Nunu said that Blinken was biased and that he had been acting like Israel’s foreign minister since the beginning of the war. ”He is biased, partial, working with Biases; he is trying to paint the [Palestinian] resistance as if it is the party to blame for the lack of this deal,” Al-Nunu said in an interview with Al Jazeera Mubasher.
Al-Nunu said that Hamas agreed to the plan given by Qatar and Egypt on May 6 without adding or removing anything, but Israel made changes. Hamas’s response on Tuesday was to alter some of the Israeli modifications to guarantee that after the first phase of the cease-fire deal, Israel would not withdraw from the deal and restart the conflict again.
During the news conference with Blinken, Qatar’s Sheikh Mohammed stated that the negotiations would be underway. “These are not new efforts or dynamics in negotiations,” he said. There will always be an available space and ‘swap. ’ After all, these are negotiations with the intent of forming a deal. There is no hard ARRAY—yes or no. ”
In their interaction, Blinken and Sheikh Mohammed both highlighted the fact that there has to be a viable solution to the situation in Israel and Palestine. They informed about the United States’ support of the idea of creating a Palestinian state with borders defined by the 1967 war, with Jerusalem being its capital.
According to Blinken, developing a more integrated, stable, and prosperous Middle East is also required. “Everyone I have conversed with since my eighth visit since October 7 wants to follow this path,” he said. ‘Now, I can’t speak for Hamas or answer for Hamas.’ It may not be the course of action that Hamas desires, or even it is the course of action that Hamas may prefer, But ‘Hamas cannot and will not be allowed to determine the destiny of these people and this part of the world.’
The Biden administration has also supported the two-state solution; on the other hand, Netanyahu has no policy of establishing a Palestinian state, as he affirms that Israel has security domination over the territory west of Jordan.
The US, which annually awards military aid of $3. 8 billion to Israel, has recently demanded the Netanyahu government outline a program for post-war Gaza. Last week, Blinken said Washington would soon present its plan for governance, security, and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
“In the coming weeks, we will put forward proposals for key elements of the day-after plan, including concrete ideas for managing governance, security, [and] reconstruction,” he said. “That plan is key to turning a ceasefire into an enduring end to the conflict.”
