US Secretary Blinken: “Israel accepts the amended proposal, and it is now up to Hamas to do the same”

According to Blinken, the new text that the United States, Egypt and Qatar put on the table a week ago and that Israel has now accepted responds to reservations that both Israel and Hamas had about the three-step US plan that US President Joe Biden announced in May. This plan has received support, including from the UN Security Council.

Blinken spoke at a press conference in Jerusalem of a “bridging proposal,” a revised proposal that “closes some of the gaps.” Blinken then put the ball in Hamas’s court: “The next important step now is for Hamas to also say yes.” The secretary of state added that discussions could then be held in Egypt on the precise implementation of the agreement. Negotiations there are scheduled to resume later this week.

Blinken is on a tour of the Middle East to increase pressure for an agreement. This is his ninth visit to the region since the Hamas terror attack on October 7 and the start of the war in the Gaza Strip. Today he held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and Defense Minister Yoav Galant.

Earlier today, Blinken said this could be the last chance for a ceasefire. Netanyahu’s government said his three-hour conversation with Blinken was “positive and in a good atmosphere.”