2023-11-04 19:57:43
Civilians in the Gaza Strip must be protected, US Secretary of State Blinken said at a meeting with counterparts in the Middle East. However, he rejected an immediate ceasefire: This would only play into the hands of Hamas.
During his Middle East trip, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed with his colleagues from Egypt and Jordan on the need to do more to protect civilians in the Gaza Strip. He once more called for a humanitarian ceasefire. From the USA’s perspective, this makes it possible to bring humanitarian support to Gaza and improves the conditions for the possible release of hostages held by Hamas.
There were clear differences of opinion at the talks in the Jordanian capital Amman on the question of a possible ceasefire. An “immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza” is urgently needed, said Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi. Adequate aid must arrive in the Gaza Strip immediately. The “expulsion of the Palestinians” must be stopped. “Murder and war crimes must stop and Israel’s immunity from international law must end,” said Al-Safadi.
Blinken: Hamas benefits from ceasefire
Blinken argued that this would be counterproductive: “We believe that a ceasefire would only give Hamas the opportunity to stay put, regroup and repeat what they did on October 7th has,” Blinken said at a press conference following the talks. He was referring to the major terrorist attack by Hamas and other extremists on Israel, which triggered the recent Gaza war.
However, on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected such a proposal at a meeting with Blinken, saying that there might be no interim suspension of hostilities until all hostages were freed. Egyptian Foreign Minister Samih Shukri said the peace process and the two-state solution must be revived.
According to the Jordanian news agency Petra, the foreign ministers of Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt as well as a representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) took part in the meeting in Ammanhaben. The PLO chairman is Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. His Fatah faction is a bitter rival to the Islamist Hamas.
Also bilateral discussions
Blinken’s first meeting was with acting Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, from whose country the Hamas-allied and Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah operates, which has intensified its rocket attacks and cross-border attacks on northern Israel since Hamas’ large-scale terrorist attack.
Blinken also met the head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Phillipe Lazzarini, and thanked him for the “extraordinary work” of the organization, which works under the most adverse conditions and has already lost around 70 employees in the conflict.
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