Blinken presses Gallant and Gantz on hostage deal proposal, and it falls to Hamas

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and War Minister Benny Gantz on Sunday to discuss the latest proposed hostage deal reportedly tabled by Israel and unveiled in late last week by US President Joe Biden.

In his call with Gallant, Blinken “welcomed Israel’s willingness to reach a deal and asserted that it was Hamas’ responsibility to accept it,” the State Department said in a write-up of the conversation.

He also “reaffirmed the United States’ unwavering commitment to Israel’s security,” the statement added.

The top US diplomat also told Gantz that in addition to provoking the release of the hostages, implementing the deal “would advance Israel’s long-term security interests, including opening up the possibility of a calm along the border between Israel and Lebanon, which would allow Israelis to return. at their home. »

The conversations were the first high-profile calls between senior U.S. and Israeli officials since Biden’s weekend speech in which he revealed details of the proposed hostage deal authorized by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet , Gallant and Gantz.

In a statement released by his office Monday morning, Gallant confirmed that he had “underscored Israel’s commitment to dismantling Hamas as a governmental and military authority.”

To that end, his office said it “discussed the issue of identifying and emerging a local government alternative,” as well as Israel’s continued efforts to “facilitate humanitarian aid and services to civilians in Gaza, while continuing its military activities and despite continued attempts by Hamas to sabotage and divert aid.

Gallant also thanked the Biden administration “for its shared commitment to bringing the hostages home to Israel,” the statement added.

In his speech on Friday evening, the US president outlined some of the key elements of the proposal and urged Hamas to accept it and the Israeli government to “support it”.

The deal, Biden said, would “bring all the hostages home, guarantee Israel’s security, create a better tomorrow in Gaza without Hamas in power, and set the stage for a political settlement that provides a better future for Israelis as well.” to the Palestinians.”

While Israeli officials confirmed that the offer publicly presented by Biden on Friday was in fact the proposal submitted by Jerusalem, Israeli leaders have asserted that the war will continue until Hamas is destroyed, and large swaths of Israeli government criticized Biden for his failure. to clarify how this would be achieved.

Although the US president stressed that the deal would remove the terrorist group from power and said he was “no longer capable of organizing another October 7”, the publicly released parts of the offer did not specify how the Hamas would be replaced at the head of Gaza. .

The matter was discussed by the war cabinet during its meeting on Sunday evening. According to Israeli media, Gallant presented to the cabinet a plan to form “humanitarian bubbles” inside the Palestinian enclave, in which Palestinians proven unaffiliated with Hamas or other terrorist groups would be responsible for overseeing distribution of humanitarian aid. within specific neighborhoods.

According to the Walla newspaper, if successful, the program could serve as a precursor to the establishment of an alternative civilian regime in the Gaza Strip to replace Hamas.

While the war cabinet appears to continue to discuss the possibility of moving forward in negotiating the proposed deal, assurances that Israel will not stop fighting until Hamas is destroyed by Netanyahu and Gallant did little to allay concerns.

Speaking at the B’Sheva conference in New York this weekend, which coincided with the Israel Day parade in Manhattan, Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli ridiculed the proposal as of “joking” and said Israel had “no choice” but to continue the war against Hamas until the terrorist group was entirely defeated.

“We must bring back the hostages – it is our moral duty as a Jewish people – but we must also look to the future of our children,” he said. “Certain conditions are unacceptable. Ending the war while Hamas is still in power, militarily and politically, is impossible.

“If we blink, if we relax, we will cause more massacres and wars,” he added.

Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi was also doubtful of the ability to oust Hamas from power through a ceasefire agreement. He told the B’Sheva conference that if Netanyahu finalized the deal, he should no longer be allowed to serve as prime minister.

“We must continue the fighting, not stop it,” he said. “A prime minister who would accept this deal without destroying Hamas and allowing a million Palestinians to return to northern Gaza is madness.”

“Anyone who signs such an agreement cannot continue to be Prime Minister of Israel,” he added.