From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, August 13, 2024
Blinken stresses need for Hamas to attend Thursday ceasefire talks in call with Turkish FM
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
In a phone call with his Turkish counterpart earlier today, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the importance of Hamas attending Thursday’s summit in Doha aimed at finalizing a ceasefire agreement between the terror group and Israel, the State Department says.
Hamas announced yesterday that it would not attend, calling on mediators to coax Israel into agreeing to the updated proposal that the terror group submitted in early July.
That offer saw Hamas cave on its long-held, central demand that Israel commit up-front to a permanent ceasefire. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by submitting a series of new demands that Hamas has rejected, Israeli and US officials say.
The US readout doesn’t go as far as stating that Blinken urged Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to pressure Hamas to attend the Thursday meeting, but that does appear to be the implication.
Hamas officials regularly reside in Turkey and the country’s president holds a warm relationship with the terror group’s leadership.
