Blinken meets Israeli leaders at ‘decisive moment’ for Gaza talks

JERUSALEM/CAIRO: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on Monday (Aug 19) that the latest push for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal was probably the best and possibly last opportunity, urging Israel and Hamas towards an elusive agreement.
However, with the Palestinian militant group Hamas announcing a resumption of suicide bombing inside Israel after many years, and with Israeli airstrikes still pounding Gaza, there was little sign of conciliation.Hamas and another militant group, Islamic Jihad, said they were behind a blast near a synagogue in Tel Aviv on Sunday that killed the bomber and wounded one other person. Suicide bombings “will return to the forefront” while the Gaza war continues, Hamas said in a statement.
The talks in Qatar last week paused without a breakthrough, but the negotiations are to resume this week based on a US “bridging proposal”.
Blinken met Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday morning.
“This is a decisive moment, probably the best, maybe the last opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a ceasefire and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security,” Blinken told reporters before meeting Herzog.
Netanyahu’s office said the prime minister “reiterated Israel’s commitment to the latest American proposal regarding the release of our hostages – taking into account Israel’s security needs”.
Months of on-off talks have circled the same issues, with Israel saying the war can only end with the destruction of Hamas as a military and political force and Hamas saying it will only accept a permanent, and not a temporary, ceasefire.
There are disagreements over Israel’s continued military presence inside Gaza, particularly along the border with Egypt, over the free movement of Palestinians inside the territory, and over the identity and number of prisoners to be freed in a swap.
“It is time for it to get done. It’s also time to make sure that no one takes any steps that could derail this process.”
Months of on-off talks with US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have failed to produce an agreement.
But the stakes have risen since the late July killings of Iran-backed militant leaders, including Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, and as the humanitarian crisis in the besieged Gaza Strip deepened.
Ahead of talks in Qatar last week, Hamas had called on mediators, rather than holding more negotiations, to implement a framework outlined in late May by US President Joe Biden.
Biden said on Sunday that a ceasefire was “still possible” and that the US was “not giving up”, in brief comments to reporters.
Despite US expressions of optimism, both Israel and Hamas have signalled that a deal will be difficult.
Hamas accused Netanyahu on Sunday of “thwarting the mediators efforts” and Turkey said Hamas envoys had told it that US officials were “painting an overly optimistic picture”.
Netanyahu told Israel’s cabinet on Sunday that “we are conducting negotiations and not a scenario in which we just give and give”, his office said.
However, a US official, asked if Hamas’ comments amounted to a rejection of the deal, said Washington believed the bridging proposal it outlined last week addressed various concerns and would iron out difficult implementation aspects.
Egyptian security sources said further ceasefire talks in Cairo this week were contingent on agreement over a security mechanism for the so-called Philadelphi Corridor between Egypt and Gaza. The U.S. has proposed an international presence in the area, a suggestion that could be acceptable if it was limited to a maximum of six months, the sources said.
The current war in Gaza began on Oct 7 last year when Hamas gunmen stormed across the border into Israeli communities, killing around 1,200 people and abducting about 250 hostages according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s military campaign has since levelled swathes of Gaza, driving nearly all of its 2.3 million people from their homes, giving rise to deadly hunger and disease and killing at least 40,000 people according to Palestinian health authorities.
Blinken’s visit comes as US President Joe Biden faces mounting pressure over his stance on the conflict, with his Democratic party holding its national convention on Monday amid worries about Muslim and Arab-American votes in swing states.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri was dismissive of the chances that Blinken would press Netanyahu to accept a deal. “Blinken acts as if he was a minister in Netanyahu’s government,” Zuhri told Reuters.
Families of Israeli hostages, who have staged protests urging a deal, spoke out again on Monday. “Don’t sacrifice my daughter and the dozens of helpless hostages,” said Ayelet Levy-Shachar on Kan Radio. Her daughter Naama, 20, was captured at an army base.