By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
TEL AVIV, ISRAEL (Worthy News) – In a breakthrough, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that Israel accepted his proposal to bridge differences holding up a cease-fire and hostage release in the Gaza Strip, and he urged Hamas to do the same.
Blinken spoke after an hour-long meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the day and was due to travel to Egypt on Tuesday.
The United States, Egypt, and Qatar have spent months trying to broker an agreement, but the talks have repeatedly stalled.
“In a very constructive meeting” with Netanyahu Monday, “he confirmed to me that Israel accepts the bridging proposal and that he supports it,” Blinken told reporters in Tel Aviv
“It’s now incumbent on Hamas to do the same, and then the parties, with the help of the mediators the United States, Egypt, and Qatar, have to come together and complete the process of reaching clear understandings about how they’ll implement commitments that they’ve made under this agreement,” Blinken stressed.
Soon after, he confirmed the outcome of their nearly three-hour meeting in Jerusalem earlier in the day but cautioned that both sides should accept all principled points.
OVERCOMING DIFFERENCES
Hamas, viewed as a terrorist organization by both the U.S. and Israel, on Sunday rejected the U.S. “bridging proposal.”
It was aimed at overcoming differences over a May 31 ceasefire deal that Hamas and Israel both accepted “in principle” but then argued about the details of how it would be executed.
Israeli media noted that for nearly three months, the United States has worked to rally global support for the deal, including securing a resolution backing it from the United Nations Security Council.
Supporters of the deal hope it will eventually help end the Israel-Hamas war, which broke out after Hamas invaded Israel, killing some 1,200 people and kidnapping about 251 others.
The Hamas-run Health Ministry claims more than 40,000 Palestinians were killed Without differentiating between combatants and civilians.
Israel has given slightly lower death figures and says nearly half of those who died are Hamas fighters.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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