The Israeli Govt’s Unforgiving Stance And The Ongoing Hostage Diplomacy In Riyadh
The Oasis Reporters
May 1, 2024
Feelers from Jerusalem show that the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu is still livid with rage over the terrorists attacks on the nation by Hamas extremists and the government of Israel seems determined to exact revenge despite all the interventions of many other countries, some peacefully pleading, some exacting other pressures from the diplomatic to the economic while countries like Iran have fired missiles directly into Israel.
Israel does not seem deterred. A report from Riyadh is about the diplomatic options and Foreign Policy (FP)’s report is here:
Hostage Diplomacy In Riyadh
Senior U.S. and Arab officials convened on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Monday to discuss possible solutions to the Israel-Hamas war, including a cease-fire deal. “In this moment, the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and cease-fire is Hamas,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. The White House has previously criticized the group’s reluctance to budge on hostage negotiations.
Blinken is expected to visit Israel later this week.
The current truce proposal would have Hamas release about 33 captives being held in Gaza in exchange for numerous Palestinian prisoners and a roughly 40-day truce, in line with previous calls for a six-week cease-fire.
The first round of hostages would consist of women, children, older adults, and those with serious medical conditions.
This is “extraordinarily generous on the part of Israel,” Blinken said on Monday. Earlier conversations centered on a deal for 40 hostages, but Hamas has since indicated that it may not have 40 living captives that fit these criteria.
The second phase of the proposed truce would include a “period of sustained calm” in a bid to appease Hamas’s demands for a permanent cease-fire.
Hamas negotiators met with Qatari and Egyptian mediators in Cairo on Monday to deliver a response to the phased proposal.
This is Blinken’s seventh trip to the Middle East since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
The U.S., Egyptian, and Qatari delegations also discussed Israel’s impending offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
The most “important thing now is to avoid an attack on Rafah,” Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, who also attended the forum, said on Monday, saying such an assault would be “catastrophic.”
On Sunday alone, at least 22 people, including six women and five children, were killed in three separate Israeli strikes on Rafah, local authorities reported.
Some U.S. officials reportedly believe that Israel is not ready to launch a full-scale ground incursion on Rafah, thereby creating a critical window to secure a cease-fire.
U.S. President Joe Biden reiterated the White House’s opposition to a Rafah offensive during a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday.
But key far-right members in Netanyahu’s cabinet have urged him to ignore international calls for a cease-fire.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened on Sunday to undermine Netanyahu’s government if he accepts the truce proposal, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened on Saturday to withdraw from Netanyahu’s government if Israel does not invade Rafah.
©Foreign Policy
