Ahead of ceasefire talks between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which are expected to take place in Cairo on the 21st at the earliest, U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken has entered into “mediation diplomacy” between the two sides. Israel has responded positively, but Hamas is known to be unwilling to accept mediation yet.
According to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office on the 19th, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement after a three-hour meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken that “the meeting was positive and had a good atmosphere, and the Prime Minister once again confirmed Israel’s support for the U.S. offer to release the hostages, which reflects Israel’s security needs.” However, it is known that Hamas has no intention of accepting mediation.
Secretary Blinken, who arrived in Tel Aviv, the economic center of Israel, on the 18th, met with Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Yitzhak Herzog, and Defense Minister Yoav Galland the next day. During his meeting with President Herzog, he emphasized that the ceasefire negotiations were “the last chance” to end the war that had entered its 11th month. This is his ninth visit to the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out in October last year.
Prime Minister Netanyahu initially expressed his discontent during the cabinet meeting, saying, “Negotiations have to be about getting something. There are areas where we won’t be flexible.” However, it is interpreted that he has modified his existing position after meeting with Secretary Blinken. Recently, Prime Minister Netanyahu has been negative about the negotiations, citing Yahya Sinwar, the top leader of the Hamas Political Bureau who led the surprise attack on Israel last October, as being negative about the ceasefire negotiations and the fact that Hamas did not send a negotiating team to the ceasefire negotiations held in Doha, Qatar on the 15th and 16th.
Hamas rejected the ceasefire proposal, saying, “The United States tolerated it even though Prime Minister Netanyahu kept making new conditions and demands regarding the ceasefire.” Hamas is protesting that Israel is insisting on stationing troops at the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
Sporadic clashes and terrorist attacks continued in various places. On the 18th, a person’s backpack exploded in downtown Tel Aviv, killing at least one person. The Israeli side claimed that “Hamas was responsible.” On the same day, Israel continued its airstrikes on the Gaza Strip. On the 19th, the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah attacked the Acre military base in northern Israel with a drone.
Reporter Lee Ji-yoon [email protected]
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2024-08-20 10:43:32