From the Liveblog of
Thursday, October 24, 2024
Blinken, Qatari PM say Doha to host US, Israeli hostage negotiating teams in coming days
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says negotiators will meet again soon on efforts to secure a hostage-ceasefire deal, as he again calls for Israel and Hamas to reach a deal after meeting Qatari officials in Doha.
Hostage talks have been largely stalled for over two months, with the US publicly blaming Hamas for refusing to engage, while Egypt and Qatari mediators have privately blamed Israel, according to officials familiar with the matter.
The Biden administration has argued that last week’s killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar by Israel may provide an opening for a revival of talks for a ceasefire and hostage deal.
“We talked about options to capitalize on this moment and next steps to move the process forward, and I anticipate that our negotiators will be getting together in the coming days,” Blinken tells reporters.
He says Israel has accomplished the strategic goals that it set out for itself at the beginning of the war just over a year ago: Making sure that Hamas’s brutal October 7, 2023, massacre can never happen again, by effectively dismantling the organization of Hamas and bringing its leaders to justice.
Asked whether negotiators are looking at new formulas, Blinken says, “One of the things we’re doing is looking at whether there are different options that we can pursue to get to a conclusion. We’re talking to the other mediators in Egypt and Qatar about that, and this is something that the [US and Israeli] negotiators will discuss when they get together.”
“We haven’t yet really determined whether Hamas is prepared to engage, but the next step is getting the negotiators together… we’ll certainly learn more in the coming days.”
He also announces another $135 million in aid for the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, which he says brings the US total to $1.2 billion since the October 7 attack by Hamas last year triggered the war.
Blinken says Israel has made some progress in allowing more humanitarian aid into Gaza since he and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sent their Israeli counterparts a letter warning that continued US offensive weaponry is at risk if Jerusalem doesn’t take significant steps to address the humanitarian crisis in the Strip within 30 days.
However, the US Secretary of State stresses that much more must be done by Israel.
Pressed on the so-called Israeli General’s Plan that envisioned the IDF laying siege to northern Gaza, Blinken says, “The US fully and firmly rejects it [and that] the government of Israel says that it is not the policy of israel and rejects the plan.”
Blinken had pressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly reject the plan during their meeting in Jerusalem on Tuesday, but the premier balked at doing so.
Asked about the anticipated Israeli response to Hamas’s October 1 missile attack, Blinken stresses that the US supports Israel’s right to defend itself and is coordinating with Jerusalem in order to deter Iran.
However, the US does not want Israel’s response to lead to further escalation in the region.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, whose country is a mediator alongside the US and Egypt, says during the press conference that an American delegation will meet Israeli negotiators soon in Doha.
“We will discuss the means to achieve a breakthrough in these negotiations,” he says.
The Qatari leader also says that Doha has recently “re-engaged” with Hamas leaders in Doha since its leader, Yahya Sinwar, was killed by Israel in Gaza earlier this month, and that the Palestinian terror group’s position has not changed.
“Until now, there is no clarity (regarding) the way forward or the clear position (of Hamas), but… what we have sensed was (that it’ position was) the same position as the last paper (that it submitted),” Al Thani says, referring to a July proposal from the terror group. That offer was rejected by Israel, which added several new conditions to its terms, including extended control over the Philadelphi Corridor along the Egypt-Gaza border.
Al Thani declines to answer whether Doha agrees with the US that Sinwar was the main obstacle to a deal and says Doha has a policy as mediator not to publicly assign blame to either side.
Doha has repeatedly criticized Israel throughout the negotiations, however, over its prosecution of the war in Gaza.
Agencies contributed to this report.
