Biden calls on Hamas to ‘prove’ they want a ceasefire
US President Joe Biden has called on Hamas to accept a US-backed ceasefire deal, following the adoption of a UN Security Council resolution on Monday calling for an immediate halt to fighting in Gaza.
“Hamas says it wants a ceasefire. This deal is an opportunity to prove they mean it,” he wrote on X.
Hamas released a statement welcoming the UN resolution shortly after it passed, and said it’s ready to work with mediators to implement it.
The US has claimed that Israel’s government proposed the ceasefire proposal currently on the table, but public statements from key members of Netanyahu’s coalition, including the prime minister himself, have called into question their commitment to the deal.
I met today with US Secretary of State @SecBlinken.
I reiterated the imperative of particularly during these times applying maximum pressure on the negotiators to secure Hamas’ agreement to the arrangement to bring the hostages home. I added that the party will support any… pic.twitter.com/IuDSvvplql
— בני גנץ - Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) June 11, 2024
Hamas agrees to ceasefire resolution
Reuters news agency is reporting that Hamas has agreed to a ceasefire resolution that was adopted by the UN Security Council yesterday, according to the group’s senior official Sami Abu Zuhri.
He added that it was up to Washington to ensure that Israel abides by it.
On Monday, Hamas was quick to welcome the resolution. In a statement after the vote, Hamas said it was ready to cooperate with mediators and enter indirect negotiations over the implementation of the principles of the agreement.
Blinken says there is Israeli ‘consensus’ on ceasefire plan
Speaking in Tel Aviv after a series of meetings with Israeli officials, US Secretary of State Blinken said he believes there is a “strong consensus” among Israeli leaders to move forward the Gaza ceasefire plan.
Blinken said Netanyahu, who he met yesterday, reiterated his support for the plan. Blinken said he received positive signals from Defense Minister Gallant and other Israeli officials.
“This proposal and moving forward on it is the first step,” Blinken told reporters in the Israeli capital. “We want to see it come to fruition.”
- Hamas’s expression of support for a UN-backed Gaza ceasefire plan is a “hopeful sign”.
- The US is still committed to “the defeat of Hamas”, but military means are not sufficient to achieve this goal. “There has to be a clear political plan, a clear humanitarian plan, in order to ensure Hamas does not in any shape or form resume control of Gaza.”
Blinken shielding Israel, putting onus on Hamas
What Blinken is doing is trying to deflect from Israel being the party that perhaps isn’t ready to fully commit to the three-stage ceasefire plan, and putting the onus on Hamas.
That might be a result of the conversations Blinken has had with Gallant, Netanyahu and others in Israel who say that “you cannot keep pressuring us like this, you need to focus on Hamas”.
It might well be a strategy. What was interesting as well in Blinken’s remarks is that he referenced Yahya Sinwar. He didn’t call him by name, but said there’s one guy who is making the decisions for Hamas, not the Hamas leadership in Doha.
