The face-to-face meeting between Benjamin Netanyahu and Antony Blinken has ended in Jerusalem. The United States, the US secretary of state had said, was “determined” to obtain an agreement between Israel and Hamas “now”, but the intentions clashed with the will of the Israeli president: Netanyahu, he said during the meeting, he will not accept an agreement with Hamas that includes an end to the war: if Hamas does not lower its demands there will be no agreement and Israel will enter Gaza.
Blinken reiterated US opposition to an Israeli assault on the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, a State Department spokesman said. During the meeting with Netanyahu, Blinken “reaffirmed the clear US position on Rafah,” Matthew Miller said, regarding the ground assault on the city, which the Prime Minister refuses to abandon despite opposition from the Nations United States and many capitals, who fear carnage among the approximately 1.5 million civilians who are crowded there, most of whom are displaced.
Dozens of demonstrators had gathered under the hotel in Tel Aviv where the US secretary of state is staying, as a sign of support for the possible agreement with Hamas for the release of the hostages. On some signs, written in English and Hebrew, one could read: “We have faith in Blinken, bring them home to us.” The head of American diplomacy then spoke to the dozens of demonstrators: “Bringing your loved ones home is at the center of everything. We will not stop until everyone, men, women, soldiers and civilians, has returned home.”
“There is a very intelligent proposal on the table right now, Hamas must say yes, it needs to be implemented,” Blinken continued as reported by the Haaretz newspaper. “We will not rest, we will not stop until you are reunited with your loved ones, so please stay strong, keep the faith, we will be with you every single day until we get this done,” he concluded. The US secretary of state, after the meeting with Netanyahu, will go to the Kerem Shalom crossing from where humanitarian aid enters Gaza on the Israeli side.
Hamas’s proposed agreement
The proposed agreement presented by Hamas in the negotiations on the Gaza Strip includes three phases, lasting approximately 40 days each, as reported today by the Lebanese newspaper “Al Akhbar”. The first phase of the agreement would include a gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from parts of the Gaza Strip to allow for the movement of humanitarian aid and the return of civilians to their homes. The proposal provides for the daily entry of 500 trucks and the end of “aerial surveillance” by Israel for eight hours a day, which rises to ten on the days of the release of the hostages still in the hands of Islamist groups.
Initially, 33 hostages are expected to be freed. For every civilian woman and child released, Israel will in turn have to release 20 Palestinian minors and women currently in prison. For every elderly, sick or injured hostage released, 20 Palestinian prisoners over 50 will be released, provided they are not serving a sentence longer than ten years. For every female soldier released, Israel will release 20 prisoners sentenced to life in prison. According to the proposal drawn up by the mediators, Hamas must provide a list of the prisoners it wishes to be released, up to 20 names, over which however Israel can maintain its veto.
As reported in the text published by “Al Akhbar”, starting from the 16th day of the truce the parties must begin indirect negotiations aimed at reaching a permanent agreement to restore peace in the Strip. The second phase of the proposal involves completing this agreement to arrive at a “sustainable calm situation” and allow the release of the remaining hostages in exchange for a certain number of Palestinian prisoners and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. The third phase finally involves the exchange of bodies on both sides and a plan for the reconstruction of the Strip, including a provision according to which Hamas will no longer be able to build military structures.
