The choice of the president of the United States Joe Biden to make public theIsrael’s latest offer on hostages and truce in Gaza it was intended to put more pressure on Hamas. This is stated by White Housespeaking about the decision through which it emerged that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed a proposal on which his far-right coalition partners later promised to bring down the government, due to the fact that the prime minister, they say, would have attempted to “cover up” the agreement carried out with the USA.
The White House, however, insisted that “the ball is in Hamas’ court“, and this despite mixed signals coming from Netanyahu that reflect the turbulence within his governing coalition.
On having made the Israeli prime minister’s offer public, the spokesperson of the American National Security Council John Kirby he insisted: “It was not about bothering the prime minister or the war cabinet, but it was about showing how well, how faithfully and how assertively the Israelis presented a new proposalwhich shows how much they really want this to happen.”
“It was about putting some public pressure on Sinwar and Hamas, who have repeatedly refused to accept what Israel has proposed“Kirby added.
And again: “Hamas has now received this proposal. We are waiting for an official response from them. They should accept the deal. This gives them what they have been looking for, which is a ceasefire and, over time, through phases, the potential withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. It is fair to say that the ball is in Hamas’ court,” Kirby continued.
Hamas is said to be the only party preventing the entry into force of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the UN said. spokesperson for the US State Department, Matthew Miller, during a press briefing. “The world must know – the Palestinian people must know – that the only thing standing in the way of an immediate ceasefire today is Hamas,” the spokesperson said, adding that “the The proposal on the table is almost identical to the one that Hamas said it would accept just a few weeks agoand it’s time for them to act.”
Biden: “The only obstacle to a truce is Hamas”
Words reiterated yesterday also by President Biden after a phone call with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. The offer now on the table represents the best chance for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is the only obstaclesaid the American leader.
“President confirmed Israel’s willingness to move forward with the terms that were offered to Hamas”, the White House then said in a statement. Biden had underlined that the offer was the best possible opportunity for an agreement, “and that Hamas’ continued refusal to release hostages would only prolong the conflict and deny relief to the people of Gaza”.
Biden then urged the Emir of Qatar to “use all appropriate measures to ensure Hamas’s acceptance of the agreement and said that Hamas is now the only obstacle to a comprehensive ceasefire and aid for the population of Gaza”, writes the White House.
Egypt: “First statements indicate that Hamas has slowly accepted”
Meanwhile, according to what the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, said yesterday, “the first statements from Hamas indicate that it has positively accepted the “US plan for a truce” and now we await the Israeli response”. “We appeal to both sides to accept the ceasefire proposals,” he added.
Netanyahu slows down: “Temporary stop to war, then we’ll discuss it”
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that he ”does not agree with the end of the war” in the Strip, underlining that “the plan presented by Biden is partial” and “inaccurate”, with some “gaps” compared to Israel’s proposal. Speaking yesterday before members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, Netanyahu underlined that ”the war will be stopped in order to return the hostages and then we will discuss”.
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