WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken will push for a breakthrough in President Joe Biden’s ceasefire proposal when he returns to the Middle East next week for his eighth diplomatic mission to the region since its inception of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. October, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.
Blinken, who is currently in France accompanying Biden on a state visit to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion during World War II, will fly from Paris to Cairo on Monday to meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and other officials . travel to Israel, Jordan and Qatar, the department said. Blinken will then head to Italy to join Biden at the summit for the Group of Seven advanced economies.
In all his meetings, Blinken will “stress the importance of Hamas accepting the proposal on the table, which is virtually identical to the one Hamas approved last month” and “discuss how the ceasefire proposal will benefit both Israelis if it would benefit the Palestinians.” This was said by ministry spokesman Matthew Miller.
“He will underline that this would alleviate suffering in Gaza, enable a massive increase in humanitarian aid and allow Palestinians to return to their neighborhoods,” he said in a statement. “It would unlock the possibility of achieving calm along Israel’s northern border – so that both displaced Israeli and Lebanese families can return to their homes – and create the conditions for further integration between Israel and its Arab neighbors, boosting Israel’s security the long term is strengthened and stability is improved. throughout the region.”
In Israel, Blinken will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials. In Jordan he will take part in an emergency international conference on aid to Gaza, and in Qatar he will meet officials trying to mediate the ceasefire.
The lightning tour comes as the Biden administration pushes hard for Hamas to accept a three-phase ceasefire proposal that would include the release of hostages taken from Israel and held by the militant group, and could potentially pave the way for an end to the conflict. and the reconstruction of Gaza.
Biden, Blinken and other US officials have heavily lobbied Arab countries to use their influence over Hamas to get Hamas to accept the deal the president announced last week.
Hamas has said it considers the offer “positive” but also called on Israel to explicitly commit to an agreement that would include a permanent ceasefire, a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, a prisoner exchange and other conditions includes. But there has been no definitive answer so far, and absent one, Blinken will highlight the matter at his meetings in Egypt and Qatar, the two countries with the closest ties to Hamas.
However, Blinken could also have trouble selling the proposal – or at least its implementation – to Netanyahu.
Although the deal is described as an Israeli initiative, some members of Netanyahu’s far-right coalition government strongly oppose it. And Netanyahu himself has expressed skepticism, saying what has been publicly presented is not accurate, and rejecting calls for Israel to stop all fighting until Hamas is eradicated.
Despite Blinken’s roughly once-monthly visits to the region since the war began following Hamas’ deadly attacks on Israel on October 7, the conflict continues: more than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in eight months by Israeli bombing and ground offensives in Gaza. , according to the Ministry of Health, which makes no distinction between combatants and civilians.
The war has largely cut off the flow of food, medicine and other supplies to Palestinians, who are facing widespread hunger. United Nations agencies say more than 1 million people in Gaza could experience the highest levels of famine by mid-July.
As the crisis has escalated, Israel has come under increasingly sharp international criticism for its actions and was castigated this week for airstrikes in Gaza that reportedly killed dozens of civilians. On Friday, Israeli attacks killed at least 18 people, including children, just a day after 33 people were killed at a United Nations-run school housing displaced Palestinian families, health officials said.
Since mid-October, Blinken has been shuttling between Israel and its Arab and Muslim neighbors in an effort to increase aid to civilians in Gaza, prevent the conflict from spreading across the region and build support for reconstruction and governance plans of post-war Gaza – all while vocally supporting Israel’s right to defend itself.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza has increased political pressure in the US, with pro-Palestinian protests popping up at universities and a resulting backlash from some who say the demonstrations have turned into anti-Semitism.
