.png){kind=icon}
Administrator- Joined
- May 11, 2013
- Posts
- 24,882
- Reaction score
- 13,611
- Points
- 2,755
- Location
- Morganton, N.C.
- Website
- conversations-ii.freeforums.net
(The Guardian) Blinken arrives in Israel to meet Netanyahu
Anthony Blinken is scheduled today to meet with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in Jerusalem as he kicks off a Middle East trip where he is expected to urge leaders to support a three-stage Gaza ceasefire deal proposed by Joe Biden.
The US secretary of state met with Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in Cairo earlier today before traveling on to Israel. Blinken is also meeting with Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant later today.
Blinken, speaking to reporters, said Hamas was the only outlier in not accepting the proposal for a ceasefire deal, to which he said Israel had agreed. -- My message to governments throughout the region, to people throughout the region, is if you want a ceasefire, press Hamas to say yes.
A senior Hamas official said Blinken’s comments were “biased to Israel”.
Antony Blinken’s visit to Israel comes as the UN security council in New York is scheduled to vote on a US-drafted resolution backing its proposed Gaza ceasefire deal.
Washington is struggling to gain the unequivocal backing of Israel or Hamas for a three-stage deal proposed by Joe Biden, that would lead to the release of all the remaining hostages in return for Israel accepting steps towards a permanent ceasefire and the eventual withdrawal of its forces from Gaza – two key Hamas demands.
The draft UN resolution backing Biden’s proposal suggests the move to phase two and the permanent end of hostilities will occur “on the agreement of both parties”, but says if the negotiations to reach that stage take longer than six weeks, “the ceasefire will continue as long as the negotiations continue”.
It says the US, Qatar and Egypt will work to ensure the negotiations keep going until all the agreements are reached and phase two is able to begin.
A vote is expected later today, after the US finalized its text on Sunday after six days of negotiations among the 15-member council. It was not immediately clear whether Russia and China would veto the draft, which needs nine votes and no vetoes to pass.
Anthony Blinken is scheduled today to meet with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in Jerusalem as he kicks off a Middle East trip where he is expected to urge leaders to support a three-stage Gaza ceasefire deal proposed by Joe Biden.
The US secretary of state met with Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in Cairo earlier today before traveling on to Israel. Blinken is also meeting with Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant later today.
Blinken, speaking to reporters, said Hamas was the only outlier in not accepting the proposal for a ceasefire deal, to which he said Israel had agreed. -- My message to governments throughout the region, to people throughout the region, is if you want a ceasefire, press Hamas to say yes.
A senior Hamas official said Blinken’s comments were “biased to Israel”.
Antony Blinken’s visit to Israel comes as the UN security council in New York is scheduled to vote on a US-drafted resolution backing its proposed Gaza ceasefire deal.
Washington is struggling to gain the unequivocal backing of Israel or Hamas for a three-stage deal proposed by Joe Biden, that would lead to the release of all the remaining hostages in return for Israel accepting steps towards a permanent ceasefire and the eventual withdrawal of its forces from Gaza – two key Hamas demands.
The draft UN resolution backing Biden’s proposal suggests the move to phase two and the permanent end of hostilities will occur “on the agreement of both parties”, but says if the negotiations to reach that stage take longer than six weeks, “the ceasefire will continue as long as the negotiations continue”.
It says the US, Qatar and Egypt will work to ensure the negotiations keep going until all the agreements are reached and phase two is able to begin.
A vote is expected later today, after the US finalized its text on Sunday after six days of negotiations among the 15-member council. It was not immediately clear whether Russia and China would veto the draft, which needs nine votes and no vetoes to pass.
