Despite the Biden administration’s continued optimism that a Gaza cease-fire agreement was imminent, it seems there was no accord to be reached between Hamas and Israel.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken left the Middle East negotiations empty-handed after multiple attempts to wrap up a deal that would be at least one crowning achievement for President Joe Biden.
After traveling to Israel, Egypt, and Qatar over the week, Blinken headed back to the U.S. Wednesday without the coveted agreement to a cease-fire and hostage release deal. A proposal by Egyptian, Qatari, and U.S. mediators last week was accepted by Israel on Monday, but Hamas rejected any deal that doesn’t include a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
(Video Credit: CBS News)
“Time is of the essence,” Blinken told the press in Doha, Qatar on Tuesday.
“We’re united in our work with the parties to try to bring this agreement across the finish line. And Qatar and Egypt in particular are in direct contact with Hamas, working to bring it along as we work to conclude this agreement,” he said at that time. “Israel has now accepted that proposal – I heard that directly from Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday – and we hope and expect that Hamas will do the same.”
He added that mediators were “going to do everything possible to, one, get Hamas on board with the bridging proposal” and then to “agree to necessary details of implementation that would allow everything to go forward.”
“This needs to get done, and it needs to get done in the days ahead, and we will do everything possible to get it across the finish line,” he said.
(Video Credit: Bloomberg)
According to The Hill:
The current deal, proposed by President Biden in May and backed by the United Nations, involves three phases, the first of which releases the most vulnerable of the 109 hostages held by Hamas in return for a temporary cease-fire in Gaza, an Israeli withdrawal from populated areas of the strip and the freeing of Palestinian prisoners.
A second phase involves negotiations for a full cease-fire and the return of the rest of the hostages. A third would see the return of the remains of hostages and a Gaza reconstruction plan.
“Talks are expected to continue this week in Cairo, but Hamas is not sending a delegation, just as it refused to do so last week in Doha, Qatar. Hamas has pushed for a proposal from July, accusing Israel of adding on extra demands since then,” The Hill reported.
At a meeting on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated the priority of getting hostages released.
The second thing is that we are, at the same time, making an effort to return the hostages, on terms that will allow for the maximum number of hostages being released in the first stage of the deal. pic.twitter.com/jCi5Wir5iF
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) August 20, 2024
Blinken noted that should Hamas agree to a proposal, it will be “very important that everyone do what’s necessary to bring the flexibility to the table to make sure that we can get the implementation agreed.”
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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