According to the US, tough indirect negotiations on a temporary ceasefire and the release of hostages in the Gaza war are making progress. We are getting “closer and closer” to a deal, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview with a Saudi Arabian TV station on Wednesday during his visit to the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah. The differences between the negotiating partners would become smaller. “I think an agreement is very possible,” Blinken said. He then wanted to travel to Egypt and on Friday to Israel.
The US, Qatar and Egypt have been mediating between Israel and the Islamic Hamas for weeks. The goal is a ceasefire and the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners. There is a “very strong proposal” on the table, Blinken said. Now we have to see if Hamas agrees.
Current developments in the live ticker:
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, meanwhile, called on his Israeli counterpart Joav Galant to consider alternatives to a ground offensive in the refugee-filled city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. In a phone call with Galant on Wednesday, Austin pointed out the need to consider options other than a major ground operation in Rafah, the Defense Department in Washington said. According to the information, the conversation also touched on the urgent need to do more to protect the civilian population and to expand the land transport of aid to the closed Gaza Strip.
Galant is expected in Washington next week. The Pentagon said talks would continue afterward. An Israeli delegation will also travel to the US capital to speak with US government representatives about their concerns about the planned ground offensive in Rafah. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made it clear on Wednesday that preparations for such an offensive will take some time. But he wants to hold on to it. Netanyahu reiterated that he had already approved the military’s operational plan for Rafah, “and soon we will also approve the plan to evacuate civilians from the combat areas.”
Israel is under international pressure to abandon a ground offensive in Rafah. The US also wants to prevent its allies from doing this. Washington’s tone towards Netanyahu and his government has sharpened considerably given the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and the many civilian casualties in recent weeks. At the same time, however, the US sees itself as Israel’s protecting power and continues to support the country with billions in military aid. A US State Department spokesperson reiterated on Wednesday that there had been no change in Washington’s support for Israel.
The ministry spokesperson was asked for a response to Canada’s announcement that it would not approve any new arms exports to Israel for the time being. This was a sovereign decision of Canadians, he replied. US President Joe Biden made clear that the US continues to support Israel and its right to self-defense – while at the same time Israel must protect the lives of civilians.
US Secretary of State Blinken’s renewed talks in the Middle East are also about a vision for lasting peace in the region. “We want the conflict to end as quickly as possible while preserving Israel’s ability to defend itself,” Blinken said in the interview on the Saudi television station.
Blinken reiterated the US desire for the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank and is led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, to be transformed and then take back control of the Gaza Strip. Washington also wants to promote a two-state solution as a comprehensive approach to pacifying the Middle East. Such a solution means an independent Palestinian state that coexists peacefully with Israel. However, Netanyahu rejects this, as does Hamas. The Palestinian Authority forcibly expelled them from Gaza in 2007, denying Israel’s right to exist.
Many former Israeli security officials agree that Netanyahu has no workable plan for managing the densely populated coastal region, making it impossible to find a path to a more stable future, the New York Times wrote on Wednesday. Some are convinced that Netanyahu must now set up a government in northern Gaza and other areas from which the army has also withdrawn. Chaos and anarchy must be prevented from spreading further. Hamas must also be prevented from repositioning itself. Without a plan, Israeli soldiers would be engaged in a prolonged war of attrition, the newspaper wrote.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Air Force said it carried out another counter-terrorism operation in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday. A fighter jet attacked two armed men in the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem, “who posed an immediate threat to troops”, the Israeli army said late this evening. The information could not initially be independently verified and no further details were initially provided. It was the second Israeli airstrike on the West Bank of the day. The air force had previously attacked a Palestinian vehicle in the city of Jenin. It was said that the attack targeted two senior members of the terrorist organization Islamic Jihad. Three people were killed, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah. (sda/dpa)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
On the same day of the terrorist attack on the Krokus City Hall in Moscow,…
class="sc-cffd1e67-0 iQNQmc">1/4Residents of Tenerife have had enough of noisy and dirty tourists.It's too loud, the…
class="sc-cffd1e67-0 iQNQmc">1/7Packing his things in Munich in the summer: Thomas Tuchel.After just over a year,…
At least seven people have been killed and 57 injured in severe earthquakes in the…
The American space agency NASA would establish a uniform lunar time on behalf of the…
class="sc-cffd1e67-0 iQNQmc">1/8Bode Obwegeser was surprised by the earthquake while he was sleeping. “It was a…