Editorial
A cold shower for all those who believed in a decisive outcome of the war between Israel and Hamas, after the peace talks of the last few hours. Apparently Hamas' proposal was found to be inadmissible. Meanwhile, the US Secretary of State Antony blinken continues his round of meetings in the Middle East to try to untangle a skein that, with each passing day, becomes more and more tangled.
Hamas's proposal
Hamas he had proposed a ceasefire for four and a half months, during which all the hostages would be released, Israel would withdraw its forces from the Strip, in view of a subsequent agreement on the end of the war.
The "No Way” by Netanyahu
In the evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after meeting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, rewound the tape: "Hamas will not survive in Gaza. Only the final victory will allow us to bring security to the north and south of Israel.", the Israeli prime minister said, also referring to the country's borders with Lebanon. “We are almost close to victory, which is the total destruction of Hamas. If we surrender to Hamas we will not only fail to release the hostages, but a second massacre. The day after the war will be the day after Hamas. I told Blinken that we must completely demilitarize Gaza.".
The prime minister expects a "normalization" of relations with the Arab world at the end of the conflict with Hamas. “The circle of peace will widen“he said after Saudi Arabia said it would not normalize relations with Israel until the war in Gaza is over and a Palestinian state is created.
Blinken's confidence
the head of American diplomacy, Antony blinken, believes, however, that there may still be “room for agreement" about the hostages between Israel and Hamas.
Blinken spoke in Tel Aviv after harsh statements from the Israeli prime minister. The Secretary of State added that he had warned Benjamin Netanyahu against any action that could exacerbate tensions and called on Israel to take civilians into consideration first in the event of the announced operation in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
Flashing: “Israelis were dehumanized in the most horrific way on October 7”, he said. “Since then the hostages have been dehumanized every day, but this cannot be a license to dehumanize others“, underlined the Secretary of State. “The vast majority of people in Gaza had nothing to do with the October 7 attacks“he said, adding that they are “just like our families". Blinken added: “We had the opportunity to discuss with the Israeli government the response that Hamas sent last night. While there are some elements that are clearly inadequate, we think the response creates space for reaching an agreement. The United States will work tirelessly until we get there".
Al Jazeera's Mohammed Jamjoom asked the US Secretary of State whether he had actually asked, as media reports suggest, State Department employees to prepare a set of options for the recognition of a Palestinian state. "Our focus today is entirely on diplomacy.", Blinken said in a vague response, adding that the war in Gaza first needs to end before something like Palestinian statehood can be addressed. Jamjoom also asked Blinken whether the United States can see a post-war reality in which Hamas has a role in governing Gaza. “The short answer… is no“, Blinken responded decisively.
Hamas in Egypt to continue talks
The political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, will be in Cairo today for talks on the proposed agreement with Israel. This was reported by the Israeli news site Ynet, which quotes the newspaper Al Araby Al Jadeed. Quds Press merely reports that a Hamas delegation will travel to Egypt “in the next few days” as part of the negotiations. Previously the Egyptian news channel Al Qahera News had reported that a new round of negotiations will begin tomorrow in Cairo to reach an agreement that will lead to the release of the hostages held for four months in the Gaza Strip and a ceasefire.
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