DOHA, August 22 ------ United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken ended his ninth visit to the Middle East since the war in the Gaza Strip began without securing any major breakthrough for a ceasefire deal, warning that "time is of the essence" even as Hamas and Israel signaled that challenges remain.
After meetings in fellow mediating countries Egypt and Qatar, Blinken said that because Israel had accepted a proposal to bridge gaps with the Palestinian militant group, the focus turned to doing everything possible to "get Hamas on board" and ensure both sides agree to key details on implementation. "Our message is simple. It's clear and it's urgent," he told reporters before leaving Qatar. "We need to get a ceasefire and hostage agreement over the finish line, and we need to do it now. Time is of the essence." There has been added urgency after the recent targeted killings of militant leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah in Iran and Lebanon, respectively — both attributed to Israel — and vows of retaliation that have sparked fears of a wider regional war. Few details have been released about the so-called bridging proposal put forth by the US, Egypt and Qatar. Blinken said it was "very clear on the schedule and the locations of (Israeli military) withdrawals from Gaza." Earlier on Tuesday, Hamas called the latest proposal a reversal of what it had agreed to, accusing Washington of acquiescing to new conditions from Israel. There was no immediate US response to that. Blinken's comments on ending his latest Israel-Hamas peace mission were notably bare of the optimism that officials of President Joe Biden's administration expressed going into his trip, and earlier.
The upbeat tone through much of the spring and summer — with US officials at times describing a ceasefire and hostage deal as nearer than ever — reflected necessary messaging, at least in part, said Jonathan Panikoff, director of the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council's Middle East Program. "If they don't project optimism, then it won't create even the potential for sufficient momentum to keep things going," Panikoff said. Americans have little alternative to continuing to push Israel and Hamas to agree to a negotiated end to fighting, but it's fundamentally about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who helped mastermind the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, Panikoff said. And they are "the two people that have been, frankly, most skeptical from the beginning" about making peace.
Netanyahu, meanwhile, met with right-wing groups of families of fallen soldiers and hostages in Gaza. The groups, which oppose a ceasefire deal, said he told them that Israel would not abandon two strategic corridors in Gaza, whose control has been an obstacle in the talks. Netanyahu's office did not comment on their account. A senior US official rejected as "totally untrue" that Netanyahu had told Blinken that Israel would never leave the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors. Such statements are "not constructive to getting a cease-fire deal across the finish line," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss Blinken's private diplomatic talks.
Blinken's meetings in Egypt, which borders Gaza, and in Qatar, which hosts some Hamas leaders in exile, came a day after he met Netanyahu. Wide gaps appeared to remain between Israel and Hamas, though angry statements often serve as pressure tactics during negotiations. Both men have seen their political standing improve at home, as Israelis turn their attention from the war in Gaza to a threatened wider conflict with Iran and Hezbollah, and as Hamas further consolidates Sinwar's leadership of the group. That's lessened the pressure on both to close a deal, Panikoff said. And while the US could try restricting arms sales to Israel to push it to end the war with Hamas, Panikoff argued that risks making Netanyahu dig in his heels further instead.
Source: manilatimes.net w
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