Blinken voices discontent over Hamas' desired revisions to the Gaza truce agreement.
"Certain adjustments are feasible; others aren't," said Blinken at a media gathering in Doha, detailing some of these alterations as surpassing past Hamas' standpoints.
Blinken didn't go as far as an Israeli representative who addressed CNN earlier, labeling the Hamas reaction as refusing the offer. Instead, he believed there were "cracks" that "can be bridged." Yet, the senior American diplomat conveyed his frustration over both the proposed alterations and Hamas' response time—12 days. He didn't share specifics about the changes but maintained that the reason behind the prolonged tension for Palestinians in Gaza was caused by Hamas, not Israel.
"Israel accepted the plan, as it stood," Blinken reiterated, even though Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's public statements seemed to question his acceptance of the plan.
"Hamas could have responded with a one-word answer—yes," he said.
"At a point in a negotiation, when there's notable back-and-forth, someone has to draw the line," Blinken stated in reference to Hamas. "It's time for the negotiating process to conclude, and for a ceasefire to commence. This is it, nothing more than that."
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stated Wednesday that "lots" of Hamas' adjustments were "small and predictable," but acknowledged that "others had more profound implications" compared to the UN Security Council resolution.
The resolution, which was unanimously passed by the UN council on Monday, laid down the three phases of a ceasefire and its implementation. In the first step, "there would be an immediate, complete, and total cessation of hostilities, along with the release of hostages and Israel's withdrawal from densely populated areas in Gaza." In phase two, "on agreement of the parties," there would be a "permanent end to hostilities, in exchange for the release of every other hostage still in Gaza, and a full Israeli extraction from Gaza." Phase three involved "the kickstart of a major multi-year rebuilding initiative for Gaza, and the handover of deceased hostages' mortal remains to their families."
A diplomatic source informed CNN that the Hamas response "included alterations to the Israeli plan," such as "an established timeline for a permanent ceasefire and the complete Israeli extraction from the Gaza Strip."
A senior US administration official revealed that "the demands were being relocated" and Hamas was now "pushing for more specificity than prior to this."
This official had mentioned before that the plan's "thinness" was exposed once you went past the first stage.
"Hamas's changes would erode the bedrock of the proposal, and it would be hard to convince Israel to agree to permanently securing the ceasefire," the senior administration official said on Wednesday.
Although the primary focus of Blinken's trip to Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Qatar was forcing Hamas to consider the immediate ceasefire, he also realized crafting strategies for resumption of daily life in Gaza once that ceasefire is in place.
"It's imperative to transfer from a 'speedy ceasefire' in Gaza to a 'sustained end' to the conflict," Blinken stated on Wednesday, expressing his most explicit appeal for an end to the eight-month-old hostilities that have resulted in the loss of more than 37,000 Palestinian lives and placed the strip in a "unprecedented" humanitarian disaster.
"In the coming weeks, we'll submit plans for critical aspects of the 'day after,' including suggestions for handling governance, security, and reconstruction," the top US diplomat said, although without providing any more details.
However, progress on any of these areas is dependent on concluding the conflict in Gaza.
"In the weeks to come, we'll continue persistently with our partners, Qatar, and Egypt, to push for a resolution," Blinken declared on Wednesday, concluding his eighth diplomatic voyage since the October 7 attack by Hamas.
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Blinken mentioned that some of the proposed alterations by Hamas exceeded their past positions, while Israel had already accepted the plan as it stood.After expressing his frustration over the response time of Hamas and the revisions to the ceasefire agreement, Blinken emphasized that it was time for the negotiating process to conclude and a ceasefire to commence.
