JERUSALEM (dpa-AFX) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that Israel has accepted a proposal put forward by Washington to bridge gaps in talks on a potential ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Addressing a press conference in Tel Aviv after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken said now Hamas must accept the U.S. proposal ahead of further talks expected to take place later this week.
'Just last week, the President put forward a proposal with Qatar and with Egypt to try to bridge the gaps that remain between the parties so that we could get agreement to what the President put out there a couple of months ago,' Blinken told reporters.
Blinken said that in 'a very constructive meeting' with Netanyahu, he confirmed that Israel accepts the bridging proposal, and he supports it. 'It's now incumbent on Hamas to do the same. And then the parties, with the help of the mediators - the United States, Egypt, and Qatar - have to come together and complete the process of reaching clear understandings about how they'll implement the commitments that they've made under this agreement. But the next important step is for Hamas to say yes and then, in the coming days, for all of the expert negotiators to get together to work on clear understandings on implementing the agreement.'
Blinken cautioned that these are still complex issues, which require 'hard decisions' by the leaders. 'Ultimately it comes down to those decisions, but there is, I think, a real sense of urgency here, across the region, on the need to get this over the finish line and to do it as soon as possible. The United States is deeply committed to getting this job done, to getting it done now.'
On the second leg of his tour of the Middle East to push for an agreement, Blinken arrived in Egypt on Tuesday, from where he will head to Qatar.
He said he looks forward to consulting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, Qatar Amir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and other critical colleagues in both countries, 'on the immediate steps ahead, and in particular, what needs to be done to ensure that Hamas comes along, agrees to the bridging proposal, and that everyone then works on finalizing a clear understanding of their commitments to implement the agreement.'
Major challenges remain for finalizing an agreement, as Hamas not yet agreeing to the U.S. proposal, and Israel continuing to bombard Gaza causing dozens of civilian casualties, including women and children.
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