10/22/2024–|Last updated: 10/22/202412:16 AM (Mecca time)
The US Secretary of State arrived Anthony Blinken To Tel Aviv today, Tuesday, on his 11th visit since the outbreak of the Israeli war on… GazaAt a time when demands continue inside Israel for the necessity of reaching a deal.
Blinken discusses with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Other officials discussed the possibility of moving negotiations aimed at completing a prisoner exchange deal and ending the war on Gaza, in addition to reducing the intensity of the expected Israeli strike against Iran and finding a possible settlement on the Lebanon front.
The US State Department announced that Blinken’s tour in the Middle East would begin with Israel, but it did not specify the other countries.
She said that the tour is expected to continue until Friday, during which Blinken will discuss “the importance of ending the war in Gaza, securing the release of all hostages, and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people.”
Blinken’s visit to the region comes days after the martyrdom of the leader of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (agitation) Yahya Al-Sanwar When he was leading the fight against the Israeli occupation soldiers in Rafah southern Gaza Strip.
But the White House indicated that the tour is not expected to achieve a breakthrough. Spokesman John Kirby said in a statement to reporters: “I cannot say that negotiations will resume in Doha, Cairo, or anywhere else.”
On Tuesday, Reuters quoted a senior US State Department official – who spoke on condition of anonymity – that Blinken will discuss in Israel its expected response to the attack launched by Iran with ballistic missiles on October 1.
The American official said that Blinken will address in his meetings in Israel and the Arab countries issues of the “day after” the war, especially security, governance, and reconstruction.
The visit comes less than 3 weeks before the presidential elections in the United States.
During his last visit to Israel last August, Blinken warned that it might be the “last chance” for a ceasefire based on “the president’s proposal.” Joe BidenHowever, he returned to the region to lead a new attempt.
Demand a deal
In a related context, demands continue within Israel to conclude a deal that guarantees a prisoner exchange with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).
Former Israeli National Security Council head Giora Eiland stressed the need to reach a deal that includes the return of all prisoners from Gaza as soon as possible.
Eiland said that the war that Israel is waging has caused damage to Israeli society and soldiers.
He explained that there is no point in continuing this war in light of the difficult economic conditions that Israel is experiencing.
New proposal
The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that the head of the General Security Service (Shin Bet) Ronen Bar put forward The cabinet (The Mini Ministerial Council) – the day before yesterday, Sunday – a deal proposal that includes a limited ceasefire in exchange for the release of detainees without the army withdrawing from… Gaza Strip.
The commission added that the talk is about an Israeli proposal that “includes a limited ceasefire, in exchange for the release of a number of kidnapped (Israeli detainees), without the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza.”
She continued by saying that the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu The head of the Shin Bet was sent to Cairo on Sunday, to discuss the proposal with the Egyptian side.
In turn, the Hebrew “Wala” news website reported that “the head of the Shin Bet presented in the cabinet meeting a proposal he received from the head of Egyptian intelligence, Hassan Rashad, to reactivate negotiations on the deal for the kidnappers.”
According to Walla, the head of Egyptian intelligence presented to Bar “the broad outlines of a small deal with… Hamas movementwhich would re-move negotiations towards a larger deal.”
The website continued, “A deal will be reached whereby a number (of the kidnapped) will be released in exchange for a ceasefire for a few days,” without further details.
For its part, the newspaper “Israel Today” said, “The cabinet decided to assign Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer to formulate a more detailed and in-depth strategy on this issue.”
With broad American support, Israel has been waging a genocidal war on Gaza since October 7, 2023, resulting in more than 142,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded – most of them children and women – and more than 10,000 missing persons, amid massive destruction and famine that killed dozens of children and the elderly, in one of the… The worst humanitarian disasters in the world.
The aggression against Lebanon also resulted in a total of 2,483 dead and 11,628 wounded, including a large number of women and children, in addition to more than 1,340,000 displaced people.