A senior US administration official has criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for making what they describe as “maximalist statements” that are “not constructive” to achieving a ceasefire. This statement comes amid intense regional diplomacy led by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has been working to advance a ceasefire and hostage release agreement.
On Monday, Blinken held a three-hour meeting with Netanyahu in Jerusalem, after which he reported that Netanyahu had accepted Washington’s “bridging proposal” designed to address key issues and bring Israel and Hamas closer to a deal.
However, Israeli media reported that Netanyahu later informed a meeting of hostage families that he had “convinced” Blinken that any deal should include Israeli troops remaining in areas of Gaza he considered “strategic military and political assets,” including along the southern border with Egypt. These comments have reportedly displeased the US administration.
“We saw the prime minister’s comments, specifically on some of these items,” said the senior official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“We’re certainly not going to negotiate in public but what I can say is that the only thing Secretary Blinken and the United States are convinced of is the need for getting a ceasefire proposal across the finish line.”
“We fully expect that… if Hamas were also to also accept this bridging proposal, discussions will continue on some of the more technical… details.
“I would also just add that maximalist statements like this are not constructive to getting a ceasefire deal across the finish line and they certainly risk the ability of implementing level, working level and technical talks to be able to move forward when both parties agree to a bridging proposal.”
The senior US official’s comments came after a round of talks on Tuesday between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in El-Alamein. Egyptian officials reportedly strongly oppose the idea of Israeli troops remaining along the border with Gaza. Following his visit to Egypt, Blinken continued his Middle East tour with talks in Doha, Qatar.
The BBC, which has been traveling with Blinken, asked him about the discussions shortly before he departed Doha. Blinken disclosed for the first time that the American bridging proposal includes a “detailed plan” for Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
“The agreement is very clear on the schedule and locations of IDF [Israel Defense Forces] withdrawals from Gaza and Israel has agreed to that,” said Mr Blinken.
Asked by the BBC whether Mr Netanyahu’s reported claim that the Israeli leader had “convinced” Mr Blinken to keep troops in Gaza, he said: “I can’t speak to what he’s quoted as saying, I can just speak to what I heard from him directly yesterday [Monday] when we spent three hours together,” he said.
“[That included] Israel’s endorsement of the bridging proposal and thus the detailed plan. And that plan among other things includes a very clear schedule and locations for withdrawals.”
When asked if the proposal called for a “full withdrawal,” Blinken declined to comment on the specifics of the plan. Hamas criticized the latest ceasefire proposals, calling them “a coup” against previous agreements and insisting that any ceasefire plan for Gaza should be based on the status of talks from July, rather than new negotiations.
