Defense Minister Israel Katz recently held a meeting with other cabinet officials to discuss development in Syria, with emphasis on Turkish involvement.
According to Israel Hayom, Cabinet member Eli Cohen proposed promoting an international conference on Syria. The conference would give the option to reshape Syria’s borders in light of the fall of the Assad regime.
Such a conference cause also conceivably results in Syria being dissolved into smaller provinces divided between the different ethnic groups in the country, allowing each a degree of security and self-governance.
Security officials say that Israel has no intention of settling in Syria but will not withdraw it’s troops until an agreement has been reached that does not threaten Israel’s security. Thus far, no proposal has satisfied this requirement.
“Israel, on various occasions has offered safe passage to Hamas’s leadership,” Blinken noted, adding, Where is the world?”
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFUpdated: JANUARY 5, 2025 10:43US Secretary of State Antony Blinken addresses the press in Jordan’s southern city of Aqaba on December 14, 2024.(photo credit: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/POOL VIA REUTERS)
One hurdle in achieving a hostage deal was Hamas’s backtracking from progress towards a deal when seeing public pressure on Israel increasing, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview with the New York Times published on Saturday.
An additional impediment to a deal was Hamas’s wish to see the conflict expanding to additional fronts, with Israel being attacked by Hezbollah and Iran.
Blinekn further asserted that achieving a hostage deal was the most rapid route to end the war in Gaza.
The absence of world pressure on Hamas to surrender and release the hostages held in the Gaza Strip since October 7 is “astounding.
“Why there hasn’t been a unanimous chorus around the world for Hamas to put down its weapons, to give up the hostages, to surrender — I don’t know what the answer is to that,” Blinken noted, adding, “Israel, on various occasions has offered safe passage to Hamas’s leadership and fighters out of Gaza. Where is the world?
IDF operates in northern Gaza, January 4, 2025 (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)
Blinken asserted that achieving a hostage deal was the most rapid route to end the war in Gaza, further stating that one hurdle to achieving it was that Hamas would backtrack from progress towards a deal when seeing public pressure on Israel increasing.
An additional impediment was Hamas’s wish to see the conflict expanding to additional fronts, with Israel being attacked by Hezbollah and Iran.
Asked whether he thought Israel had abided by the rules of law during the war in Gaza, Blinken referred to the humanitarian aid provided by Israel to Gaza, “we’ve found periods of time where, no, we didn’t think they [Israel] were doing enough.”
He added, “There’s a big difference between intent and result, whether it’s under the law or under any one standard. The results that we were seeing were grossly insufficient. That is the result of getting people the assistance they need. I think that making sure that people are protected has been insufficient. There’s a very different question about what was the intent.”
Blinken reiterated the US commitment to Israel’s defense when asked why his administration continued to transfer weapons to the Jewish State.
Relationship between the Biden administration and Netanyahu
When asked whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu listed to the Biden administration, especially with regard to Israel’s May operation in Rafah in southern Gaza, the secretary of state asserted, “What Israel wound up doing in Rafah was very different from what they were planning to do before we engaged with them.”
Blinken also negated reports that Netanyahu had barred a hostage deal from being achieved in July. “What we’ve seen time and again is Hamas not concluding a deal that it should have concluded. There have been times when actions that Israel has taken have, yes, made it more difficult. But there’s been a rationale for those actions, even if they’ve sometimes made getting to a conclusion more difficult.”
One of the main obstacles to reaching a deal is reportedly Hamas’s refusal to give the names of the hostages who would be released in the deal.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFUpdated: JANUARY 5, 2025 05:17Illustrative image of Hamas politburo member Khalil Al-Haya and Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.(photo credit: MAJID ASGARIPOUR/WANA (WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY) VIA REUTERS, NASEEM ZEITOON/REUTERS, REUTERS/YAMAM AL SHAAR)
Hamas’s consent is all that remains left to achieve a hostage release deal, as all other factors have already been agreed upon, a Saturday night N12 report claimed, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The report comes as an Israeli delegation has left for Qatar once again to engage in negotiations with the aim of reaching a hostage deal.
One of the main obstacles to reaching a deal is reportedly Hamas’s refusal to give the names of the hostages who would be released. The Hamas delegation claimed that they needed a week to locate all the hostages, the report noted.
Officials also confirmed reports that Israel has been seeking to increase the number of live hostages released in the deal. Israel’s new request has asked Hamas to release hostages who are not considered “classic humanitarian cases,” as defined in previous negotiations, the report said.
Hostages square Tel Aviv (credit: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)
Israel’s new terms
It also added that Israel’s list of hostages to be released includes men under the age of 50, despite Hamas’s claim that this deviates from previous agreements. The terror group is, therefore, demanding a different set of prisoner releases in exchange for Israel’s new requests.
The report added that mediators were eager to finalize a deal before President-elect Donald Trump’s upcoming inauguration on January 20.
Regarding the key points of negotiations, what has already been agreed upon were matters related to the Philadelphi Corridor, the Netzarim Corridor, and the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released, N12 said.
The report continued that senior Israeli officials insisted on conveying their cautious optimism regarding the deal.
The officials reportedly claimed that “it will be possible to reach a deal and bridge the gaps between the parties in the coming weeks.”
