On Wednesday, Antony Blinken expressed the United States' determination to secure a truce between Israel and Hamas. He met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv before his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Secretary of State will meets this Wednesday with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. On the table, insisting Hamas accept the ceasefire proposal and Israel renounce its offensive against the city of Rafah. Before the meeting, Blinken noted that "even in these very difficult times we are determined to get a ceasefire that brings the hostages home – and to get it now.” The head of diplomacy added that "the only reason that that wouldn't be achieved is because of Hamas."
Bringing the hostages home is at the heart of everything we’re trying to do. We will not rest until every hostage — woman, man, young, old, civilian, soldier — is back with their families, where they belong. pic.twitter.com/QW3WG8ls33
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) May 1, 2024
The mediating countries (Egypt, Qatar and the United States) continue to wait for Hamas' response after months of stagnation in indirect negotiations. The offer includes a 40-day truce and the release of hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The first part of the agreement provides for the release of 33 hostages kidnapped by Hamas terrorists; Israel is offering 20 prisoners in exchange for each of them.
Blinken said that the proposal is "extraordinarily generous" on Israel's part and urged Hamas to accept it without further delay amid a scenario where violent pro-Palestinian demonstrations are proliferating at American universities.
Hamas, for its part, demands a permanent ceasefire before any agreement on the release of the hostages. Israel rejects this idea and insists on launching a ground offensive in Rafah, considered the last local stronghold of the terrorists.
"The idea that we will stop the war before achieving all its aims is not an option" Netanyahu told families of the kidnapped hostages on Tuesday." We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there — whether or not there is a deal — in order to achieve total victory," added the Israeli prime minister.
The possible intervention of the International Criminal Court against Israel, "a danger for democracies"
On the other hand, the president of Israel, Isaac Herzog, pointed out this Wednesday that a possible indictment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) against the Israeli leaders for the war in Gaza would represent "a danger for democracies."
Israeli sources revealed in recent days that they expect the international court to issue arrest warrants against members of the Government, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in relation to the military operation in the Gaza Strip following the terrorist raid against Israel on December 7. October.
"Using the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israel, which is fighting terrorism, poses a danger to democracies that follow the norms of international law." “I call on all our allies and friends to oppose and reject any attempt,” Herzog said while receiving the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.
