“Israel’s generous offer”
Blinken strongly urges Hamas to accept hostage deal
April 29, 2024, 6:47 p.m
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US Secretary of State Blinken sees an agreement between Israel and Hamas within reach. The Israeli government’s offer was “very, very generous.” Now the Islamists have to decide, and quickly.
Israel has made major concessions with its current proposal to Hamas for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “Hamas has a proposal in front of it that is very, very generous on the part of Israel,” Blinken said in Riyadh at a World Economic Forum (WEF) conference. The only thing separating the people of Gaza from a ceasefire now is Hamas. They have to “decide and they have to decide quickly,” said Blinken.
According to Israeli media reports, the latest proposal calls for the release of 33 hostages held by Hamas. In return, Israel intends to release several hundred Palestinian prisoners from prisons. Among them are women, including soldiers, older people, the injured and the “mentally impaired.” The length of the ceasefire should depend on the number of hostages released. Israel would therefore also withdraw from a central road that divides the Gaza Strip into north and south. Residents of the northern section are also allowed to return to their homes.
Blinken and his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan also said that their governments’ discussions about possible recognition of Israel by Saudi Arabia were very advanced. They are “potentially close to completion,” Blinken said. Both countries are “very, very close,” said Bin Farhan. The talks were suspended after the start of the Gaza war. However, Saudi Arabia has declared that it remains very interested in normalizing relations with Israel and is making a “credible and irreversible path” to a Palestinian state a condition. The kingdom hopes that such an agreement will, among other things, provide security guarantees from the USA.
Hamas: “We are still discussing”
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron also said Hamas had been made a “very generous offer of a 40-day ceasefire” and the release of “potentially thousands of Palestinian prisoners” in return for the remaining hostages from Israel. Egyptian Foreign Minister Samih Schukri was also “hopeful” there. The current proposal takes into account the positions of both sides, Schukry said. He hoped that everyone would “rise to the opportunity.”
A senior Hamas official commented positively on Israel’s latest proposal on Sunday. “No major problems” were identified with the text, the Hamas representative told AFP. Saher Jabarin from the Hamas Politburo, however, said it was “too early to speak of a positive atmosphere.” Hamas is still discussing the Israeli proposal.
On the night of Sunday to Monday, 22 people were killed in nightly Israeli air strikes on the town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, medics and the Civil Defense Authority said. Seven people were killed in the city of Gaza, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa. The Israeli army said it had hit “dozens of terrorist targets” in the center of the Gaza Strip.