“Guilty if deal fails”
Blinken puts pressure on Hamas to act
May 1, 2024, 3:48 p.m
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A ceasefire including a hostage deal for Gaza has been expected for days, but Hamas is playing for time. US Secretary of State Blinken makes it clear that he only holds the terrorist organization responsible for any failure. The Islamists see themselves as being judged unfairly and point to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.
International efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip remain in full swing. It is not yet clear whether an agreement will be reached. During a visit to Israel, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken again called on the terrorist organization Hamas to agree to the latest proposal to halt fighting and exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners. “We are committed to achieving a ceasefire that brings the hostages home – now,” Blinken said at a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv. If this fails, Hamas alone will be responsible, Blinken added.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Suhri said his organization was still examining the proposal. It is unfair for Blinken to blame Hamas for the delays. Even Israeli negotiators reportedly acknowledged that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the one obstructing an agreement, Abu Shuri claimed, adding: “Blinken’s comments contradict reality.”
Under Egypt’s leadership as mediator, the long-stalled negotiations over a ceasefire have recently started to move again. This fueled hopes that an agreement could be reached soon. Several Western leaders traveled to the region in recent days to emphasize this. According to French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourne, there is still a need for action. Work is still needed to ensure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, he said after a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shukri in Cairo. Séjourne declined to say how optimistic he was that a deal could be reached.
While Hamas is seeking a permanent ceasefire and Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu made it clear that he would only end the war once all of Israel’s goals had been achieved. This also includes dismantling Hamas. Netanyahu announced that he would take action “with an agreement or without an agreement” against the remaining Hamas structures in Rafah in the south of the coastal area.
Blinking: Focus on suffering in Gaza
Israel’s Western allies are also warning of an offensive in Rafah. Around half of the 2.3 million residents of the Gaza Strip have now sought refuge in the city on the border with Egypt because of the war that has been going on for almost seven months. The humanitarian situation is becoming increasingly precarious.
During his meeting with Herzog, Blinken emphasized that the US was firmly committed to a ceasefire and the return of the Israeli hostages. But the focus must also be on the people of Gaza, “who are suffering in this crossfire caused by Hamas.” It’s about getting food, medicine, water and shelter. The USA is Israel’s most important ally. For some time now, however, the American government has been putting increased pressure on Netanyahu to do more to combat the suffering of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas killed 1,200 people and took more than 200 hostages in a massacre in southern Israel on October 7th. Israel then launched a military offensive in which, according to Palestinian information, more than 34,000 people have been killed so far. The Gaza Strip was largely reduced to rubble and ashes. So far there has only been a short ceasefire at the end of November. Several hostages were released from Israeli prisons in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. However, dozens of hostages are still held by Hamas.