Tuesday, June 11, 2024
Year : 2, Issue: 24
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during closed-door talks Monday that the Biden administration and other unspecified world leaders “will stand behind” a cease-fire agreement outlined by President Joe Biden.
“The Secretary updated the prime minister on ongoing diplomatic efforts to plan for the post-conflict period, emphasizing the importance of those efforts to providing long-term peace, security, and stability to Israelis and Palestinians alike,” spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.
“Secretary Blinken also emphasized the importance of preventing the conflict from spreading,” he added.
Blinken separately met with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and “commended Israel’s readiness to conclude a deal and affirmed that the onus is on Hamas to accept.”
“He underscored the proposal would advance Israel’s long-term security interests, including by enabling the possibility of further integration in the region. He reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security,” Miller said in a separate readout.
The “comprehensive” three-stage proposal would see a cease-fire implemented in the besieged Gaza Strip immediately, the phased release of hostages, and would lead to the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the largely destroyed enclave. Reconstruction would also begin in a process that US officials estimate would take up to five years to complete. ay 6.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, June 10, 2024/Amos Ben Gershom/GPO
