Negotiations continue as the secretary of state presses Hamas to accept a three-part proposal to bring a halt to hostilities in the Gaza Strip.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken shared his frustration on June 12 over changes that Hamas has requested to a new cease-fire proposal to bring the war in the Gaza Strip to a close.
Mr. Blinken, along with other members of President Joe Bidenās administration, have pressed for Hamasāwhich is designated a terrorist group by both the United States and Israelāto accept the three-part proposal to bring a cessation of hostilities after more than eight months of fighting in the Gaza Strip.
āHamas has proposed numerous changes to the proposal that was on the table. We discussed those changes last night with Egyptian colleagues and today with the prime minister,ā Mr. Blinken said. āSome of the changes are workable; some are not.ā
Mr. Blinken insisted the cease-fire proposal was nearly identical to terms that Hamas itself had supported as recently as May 6.
āHamas could have answered with a single word: yes. Instead, Hamas waited nearly two weeks and then proposed more changes, a number of which go beyond positions it had previously taken and accepted,ā Mr. Blinken continued, adding that the changes mean the fighting in the Gaza Strip will continue for the time being.
Despite the apparent new wrinkles in the negotiations, Mr. Blinken said the Biden administration, along with its counterparts in Qatar and Egypt, will keep working āon an urgent basisā to finalize a cease-fire plan.
A reporter asked during the news conference whether the changes Hamas had requested for the cease-fire plan constituted an outright rejection of the proposal. In his response, Mr. Blinken didnāt directly call the Hamas response a rejection but said, āAt some point in a negotiation … you get to a point where if one side continues to change its demands, including making demands and insisting on changes for things that it already accepted, you have to question whether theyāre proceeding in good faith or not.ā
The secretary of state again said some of the changes Hamas had requested were workable, but said itās time āfor the haggling to stop and a cease-fire to start.ā
Mr. Blinken didnāt directly answer questions during the news conference about the specific changes Hamas had requested to the proposal.
āIām not going to, obviously, characterize or describe what theyāre looking for,ā he said. āAll I can tell you, having gone over this with our colleagues, is that we believe that some of the requested changes are workable and some are not.ā
āI have not heard that specific Hamas request today. Obviously, this is a fast-moving situation. And also, thereās a lot of different Hamas voices. So, weāll await consultation with Egypt and Qatar, who speak through an authoritative channel with Hamas,ā Mr. Sullivan said.
He declined to respond to other questions about the specific changes Hamas negotiators had requested but insisted President Biden had anticipated some back-and-forth haggling when he first announced the cease-fire plan last month.
āI would point out that, in his remarks on May 31st, the president anticipated that Hamas would come back, they would suggest some changes, and that the important thing was that all parties sit at the table untilāthe proverbial table hereāuntil we get to an agreement, ā Mr. Sullivan said. āThatās what weāre reinforcing today.ā
Original News Source Link – Epoch Times
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