Tel Aviv Press Conference
on the Status of Israel-Hamas Peace Negotiations
delivered 19
August 2024, Tel Aviv, Israel
Good afternoon, everyone. This is now my ninth trip to the region since
October 7th, and President Biden asked me to come back on this trip with two
main goals in mind. The first is to reaffirm the commitment of the United States
to Israel’s security, and that’s a commitment that we’ve put into practice
virtually every day since October 7th, including when Israel was attacked
directly by Iran back in April.
In recent weeks, given the heightened tensions, we have deployed additional
assets to the region. The purpose of the deployment of these assets is not to
provoke aggression but rather to deter, to make sure that it doesn’t happen, but
also to make clear that if it does, we are fully prepared to defend Israel.
We’ve coupled this effort with an intense diplomatic campaign, virtually a
global diplomatic campaign, working with countries around the world to send the
message strongly to every concerned party not to take any steps that would
escalate tensions, that would risk provoking a wider conflict. And this too has
been something we’ve been working on from day one, since October 7th. It’s been
one of our primary objectives to prevent the conflict from escalating, from
spreading to other places.
And so this coupling of our military commitments, our security commitments, with
an intense diplomatic campaign is something that I’m pursuing on this trip,
again, with the intent of making sure that we deter further conflict, but that
we’re also clearly prepared to defend against it if it comes. But what’s most
crucial now is that everyone -- everyone -- refrain from taking any actions that
could fuel further conflict, escalate tensions, and result in the spreading of
violence and conflict.
Second purpose was to further the intense efforts we’re engaged in across our
government to bring an agreement for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of
hostages across the finish line. That is the single best way, obviously, to get
hostages home, to get an enduring ceasefire that also reflects Israel’s security
interests, to relieve the terrible daily suffering of Gazans -- men, women, and
children desperate for food to eat, for shelter, and for staying out of harm’s
way.
Back in May, President Biden put before the world a detailed proposed agreement
on a ceasefire and the release of hostages, and the entire world rallied behind
it. Country after country came out in support of that agreement, the United
Nations Security Council voted 14 to nothing in support of the agreement, and
the heart of it is incorporated into a UN Security Council resolution.
Just last week, the President put forward a proposal with Qatar and with Egypt
to try to bridge the gaps that remain between the parties so that we could get
agreement to what the President put out there a couple of months ago. In a very
constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu today, he confirmed to me
that Israel accepts the bridging proposal, that he supports it. It’s now
incumbent on Hamas to do the same. And then the parties, with the help of the
mediators -- the United States, Egypt, and Qatar -- have to come together and
complete the process of reaching clear understandings about how they’ll
implement the commitments that they’ve made under this agreement. But the next
important step is for Hamas to say yes and then, in the coming days, for all of
the expert negotiators to get together to work on clear understandings on
implementing the agreement.
These are still complex issues, and they’re going to require hard decisions by
the leaders. Ultimately it comes down to those decisions, but there is, I think,
a real sense of urgency here, across the region, on the need to get this over
the finish line and to do it as soon as possible. The United States is deeply
committed to getting this job done, to getting it done now.
From here I’m going on to Egypt and Qatar, and these are our two critical
partners in this effort to get the ceasefire agreement over the finish line, to
get the hostages home, to put everyone on a better path to lasting peace and
security. And so I look forward to consulting with President Sisi, with the Amir
Sheikh Tamim, with other critical colleagues in both countries, on the immediate
steps ahead, and in particular, what needs to be done to ensure that Hamas comes
along, agrees to the bridging proposal, and that everyone then works on
finalizing a clear understanding of their commitments to implement the
agreement.
That’s where we are, and again, I’d just say that for us, for President Biden,
there’s a deep sense of urgency in getting this done. And I also hear that
throughout this country as well as throughout the region. It’s the single best
way not only to get the hostages home, to ease the suffering of people in Gaza;
it’s also the best way to make sure that conflict doesn’t spread, that we don’t
see escalation, that we can actually defuse some of the pressure points that we
see throughout the region, and then open prospects for trying to build a more
enduring peace and security for everyone throughout the Middle East.
Happy to take some questions.
MR. PATEL: Humeyra, go ahead.
QUESTION: Hello, Mr. Secretary. Just a few questions with the new information
that you’ve just given us about Prime Minister Netanyahu accepting the bridging
proposal. I just want to be very clear; there has been a longstanding
disagreement between Hamas and Israel about permanent ceasefire versus temporary
ceasefire. Could you confirm if prime minister has accepted the permanent
ceasefire, which was what Hamas wanted? Did the prime minister assure you that
Israel is not going to add further demands to the current framework in the
coming days? And are you more hopeful now after having this meeting with him?
And one final thing. In your comments this morning, you said -- you referred to
this latest round of talks may be the last opportunity for a deal. Why did you
say that now? Does that mean if this one fails, the United States is going to
give up on the ceasefire talks? Thank you.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, first, to take the last part of the question first, no,
we’re never -- we’re never giving up, but what we know is this. With every
passing day that there’s not an agreement, two things can happen: One is, of
course, more hostages can perish; and second, intervening events come along that
may make things even more difficult if not impossible. And we’ve experienced
that throughout this process. So there’s a -- the fierce urgency of now,1
that’s
what, I think, we’re all feeling. And we do see this as the best opportunity to
finally get this over the finish line. We’ll never give up on it, but the
challenge is the longer this goes on, the more, again, hostages will suffer --
possibly perish -- and the more other things happen that could make things
impossible. So that’s why we’re so intensely focused on getting this done and
getting it done now.
On the first part of the question, the bridging proposal that Prime Minister
Netanyahu has accepted and we look to Hamas to accept reflects what is in the
ceasefire agreement that President Biden put before the world back in May,
that’s incorporated into a UN Security Council resolution, and that makes clear
that this process will proceed in phases: a first initial ceasefire over the
course of six weeks in which hostages are released, prisoners are exchanged, and
negotiations commence on the conditions necessary for an enduring ceasefire.
That’s what the -- that’s what the deal says. That’s what’s reflected in what was
put before the world and the world endorsed, the Security Council endorsed. And
the bridging proposal was to try to close some gaps or to clarify different
parts of this agreement that needed clarification.
Now, what the challenge -- what the challenge is, besides Hamas agreeing to the
bridging proposal, is to make sure that there are clear understandings on how
the different parties are going to make good on their commitments, how they’re
actually going to implement this agreement. And that’s what is so necessary and
is -- I don’t want at all to minimize the challenge. These are complex issues,
but it’s also why we have expert negotiators who are working on this.
I should have mentioned as well, Prime Minister Netanyahu committed to sending
his senior expert team back to either Doha or to Egypt to try to complete this
process. But we look to Hamas, first and foremost, to get behind the bridging
proposal and then to join everyone in trying to get a clear understanding on how
the commitments will be implemented.
MR. PATEL: Channel 12.
QUESTION: Thank you. Secretary Blinken, thank you. Let’s talk about Hamas.
You’ve just mentioned them. So you’ve put a -- the final proposal in Doha on
Friday. Israel has accepted this; Hamas has declined. Is there a real way to
move forward? What is your message to Hamas? And if I may ask you, Prime
Minister Netanyahu has said he is insist on Israeli presence of the Philadelphi
Corridor. Is it an obstacle to reach an agreement, and what have you told him
when you both -- you met earlier today? Thank you.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: So what I would say to Hamas and to its leadership is if it
genuinely cares about the Palestinian people that it purports to somehow
represent, then it will say yes to this agreement and it will work on clear
understandings about how to implement it. Because the single, quickest, best,
most effective way to relieve the terrible suffering of the Palestinians that
was instigated by Hamas’s attack on October 7th and the war that ensued is to
complete this agreement. So that’s really the question. Is Hamas, is its
leadership actually looking out for Palestinian children, women, and men who are
suffering at this very moment in Gaza? And if it is, it will agree. And then
we’ll work on making sure that there’s clarity on all sides about how the
agreement will be implemented, how they’re going to make good on their
commitments, because not everything is spelled out in detail in the agreement.
And I can’t comment on specific issues that remain, but as I said, there are
questions of implementation and making sure that it’s clearly understood what
each side will do to carry out its commitments. That’s the next step, assuming
Hamas agrees to the bridging proposal.
MR. PATEL: Jenny, go ahead.
QUESTION: Thanks, Mr. Secretary. Following up on my colleague’s question, yes or
no: Have you gotten any indications from Hamas since the talks wrapped last week
that they recognize the urgency of the deal on the table and that this could be
the last chance? And in your meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, did you
raise the escalating settler violence that we’re seeing in the West Bank? The EU
has suggested they would be open to sanctioning sitting Israeli officials. Is
the U.S. open to doing the same?
And then if I may, I’d be remiss not to talk about the humanitarian situation on
the ground in Gaza. I know you say a ceasefire is the best way to bring that to
an end. But in the time that these -- the war and the negotiations have been
going on, officials in the Gaza Strip say 40,000 people have died. Polio has now
re-emerged. It’s been gone for over two decades. What is the U.S. prepared to do
to ensure that the humanitarian situation is alleviated in the time that the
negotiations are still going on?
SECRETARY BLINKEN: So let me take the last part first because I spent some time
today on -- as I always do -- on the humanitarian situation, both specifically,
for example, about polio because we very much share the concern about the
possibility of its re-emergence, and we’ve been working on a detailed plan to
make sure that those who need to be vaccinated against it can get vaccinated,
and we’re working with the Israeli Government on that. And I believe that we’ll
be able to move forward with a plan to do that in the coming weeks. It is
urgent; it is vital.
More broadly, there are very, very important issues that continue to need to be
resolved in order for people to get the assistance they desperately need,
whether it’s -- whether it’s food, whether it’s medicine, whether it’s
appropriate shelter, whether it’s dealing with things like treating the sewage
that’s accumulated throughout Gaza and that promotes an acute -- that presents an
acute health hazard, that’s an incubator for disease. All of that was very much
on my agenda today. I had a detailed discussion with the defense minister, with
the head of the military on steps that need to be taken -- must be taken -- to
continue to try to improve the situation for Palestinians in Gaza.
Now, again, the quickest way to do that in the most robust way possible would be
through the ceasefire, because that opens up much more space to surge assistance
into people and then to build something that’s genuinely sustainable. But even
in the absence of a ceasefire, this is an absolute imperative.
In terms of what we’ve heard from Hamas -- so obviously we don’t hear directly
from Hamas, but both Egypt and Qatar are in contact with Hamas. And look, I
don’t want to go beyond anything we’ve already said except to say that tomorrow,
when I see the leaders of both Egypt and Qatar, I’ll get the latest from them on
what they are hearing. And I can’t speculate on exactly what Hamas’s intentions
are. We’ve seen public statements, but we’ve seen public statements before where
-- that don’t fully reflect where the -- where Hamas is.
As I said, the critical next step is for Hamas to accept the bridging proposal
that Israel -- Prime Minister Netanyahu has now accepted, and then to engage with
everyone else on making sure that we have clear understandings of how each party
would actually implement the commitments that it’s undertaken in this agreement.
So probably more tomorrow after we talk to our friends in Egypt and Qatar.
And I’m sorry, there was a third part to --
QUESTION: The settler violence. Did this come up in your meeting, and are you
prepared to sanction sitting officials?
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Oh, yes it did. It did. And this has been also something
that’s been a deep and ongoing concern for us -- violence, intimidation as well,
of the Palestinian community in the West Bank. There was an incident, as you
know, just a few days ago that I think has galvanized attention from the Israeli
Government, and that that is critical, and we look to see action taken -- action
taken to prevent this kind of violence, action taken to hold people who --
responsible for it accountable, and we’re looking to the government to take the
necessary steps to stop the violence and to make sure that there is real
deterrence in place so that it doesn’t happen again.
MR. PATEL: Thanks, everybody.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you. Thanks, everyone.
1
Allusion invoking the rhetorical power,
the moral force
of Martin Luther King's" diction in his "I
Have a Dream" and "A
Time to Break Silence" speeches. Interestingly, the latter leaves open a
plausible interpretation that not only must there cessation of hostile
activities of a damaging war but also one that privileges the plight
of the Palestinians as the people oppressed by an occupying power
Original Text Source: State.gov
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Page Updated: 8/22/24
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