Antony Blinken Says Israel OK’d a Plan For Ceasefire

(TheConservativeTimes.org) – Antony Blinken, the United States Secretary of State, said that Israel has accepted a proposal to bridge differences that are holding up a cease-fire and the release of hostages.

Negotiations have become urgent as diplomats hope an agreement will deter Iran and Hezbollah from retaliating after two of their top militants were killed from attacks. These tensions have raised concerns about the possibility of an even more destructive war.

Blinken held a two and a half hour meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and he will also travel to Egypt and Qatar to negotiate further. These three mediators have spent months trying to end the war in Gaza, but the negotiations have been unsuccessful.

Blinken said, “In a very constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu today, he confirmed to me that Israel supports the bridging proposal.” He continued, “The next important step is for Hamas to say ‘yes.’”

He continued to say that negotiations will continue as they work on “clear understandings on implementing the agreement.” He said that there are “complex issues still requiring hard decisions by the leaders.”

Hamas has been talking negatively about having the United States as a negotiator as they accused them of siding with Israel despite Hamas rejecting the terms of the deal. Blinken didn’t give any details on whether the proposal would address Israel’s demand for control over two areas inside of Gaza.

Netanyahu said he had a “good and important meeting” with Blinken and that he appreciated the “understanding that the United States has shown to our vital security interests, along with our shared efforts to release our hostages.”

“It’s also time to make sure that no one takes any steps that could derail this process,” Blinken said in reference to Iran. “And so we’re working to make sure that there is no escalation, that there are no provocations, that there are no actions that in any way move us away from getting this deal over the line, or for that matter, escalating the conflict to other places and to greater intensity.”