On his eighth visit to the region in as many months, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken continued to parrot the line that regional potentates must pressure Hamas to accept the ceasefire deal.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters on June 11 that the group accepts the resolution in regard to the ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli troops and swap of all prisoners, those held by Hamas and the Palestinians kidnapped by Israel from their homes.
While Hamas has treated Israeli prisoners humanely, the zionists have been torturing and even raping Palestinian prisoners.
At least 27 Palestinian prisoners have died under torture in Israeli dungeons.
Regarding the ceasefire proposal, Abu Zuhri added that it was up to the US to make sure Israel abides by it.
“The US administration is facing a real test to carry out its commitments in compelling the occupation to immediately end the war in an implementation of the UN Security Council resolution,” he added.
Notwithstanding Blinken’s soothing words, an anonymous Israeli official said on June 11: “Israel will not end the war before achieving all its goals, which are to destroy Hamas’s military capabilities [and end] its rule, release all hostages, and ensure that Gaza does not pose a threat to Israel in the future.”
While the US claims that the three-phase ceasefire agreement is an “Israeli proposal”, the zionists have given no such indication in public.
Instead, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists he will continue the war until Hamas has been wiped out.
He demands Hamas release all the Israeli prisoners it is holding.
What leverage would Hamas have if it agrees to this outrageous demand without getting a permanent ceasefire agreement in place?
Even that would be no guarantee because both the zionists and the Americans are compulsive liars.
That is why Hamas has communicated through Egyptian and Qatari mediators that it wants written guarantees from the US about a permanent ceasefire.
The ceasefire proposal first announced by US President Joe Biden on May 31, called for a six-week ceasefire, an exchange of some prisoners, return of Palestinians to their (bombed-out) homes and all areas not occupied by Israeli forces.
The US then submitted this in the form of a resolution to the UN Security Council on June 10.
The three-phase approach would lead to a full ceasefire, the release of Israeli prisoners held by Hamas as well as the complete withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza.
Following the Security Council resolution that was approved by 14-0 votes with Russia abstaining, Hamas welcomed it saying it viewed it “positively”.
Then on June 11, Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad announced their acceptance of the resolution.
Speaking in Tel Aviv, Blinken said Hamas’s acceptance was a “hopeful sign”.
He added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “reaffirmed his commitment” to a Gaza ceasefire deal during their meeting in Jerusalem.
Putting a positive spin on Israeli foot-dragging, Blinken also said he believes there is a “strong consensus” among Israeli leaders to move forward with the plan.
“This proposal and moving forward on it is the first step,” he told reporters. “We want to see it come to fruition.”
Parroting the hardcore zionist position on Hamas, Blinken said the US remains committed to the Palestinian group’s defeat, but military means are not sufficient.
“There has to be a clear political plan, a clear humanitarian plan, in order to ensure Hamas does not in any shape or form resume control of Gaza.”
In other words, Blinken is reiterating the Israeli position that Hamas must either surrender or be wiped out.
Can anything be more absurd than that?
In eight months of brutal war in which the zionist war criminals have murdered or injured more than 110,000 Palestinians (37,000 killed and 84,000 injured), they have failed to achieve any of their military or political objectives.
Why should Hamas offer them victory on a plate?
Amid these ludicrous demands, Netanyahu has not said anything in public about his regime’s acceptance of the ceasefire resolution even though American officials insist it is an “Israeli proposal”.
The war criminal has also ruled out a permanent truce.
That is why Hamas has demanded written guarantees from the US to end the war.
The current proposal does not provide explicit guarantees over the transition from phase one to phase two.
The latter phase includes a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of all Israeli troops.
In its current form, the plan merely says that the initial six-week truce will be extended as long as negotiations for the second phase are ongoing.
This leaves the initiative in Israel’s hand.
It can walk out of indirect negotiations at any time, especially after it secures the release of its prisoners.
Israel’s criminal conduct is evident from the fact that despite announcement of the truce deal on May 31, its forces have continued to kill innocent civilians in Gaza.
The baby-killers have not satiated their blood-lust.
Hamas cannot afford to take America’s word about Israeli adherence.
Even its written guarantee may not be sufficient.
It would, however, test Washington’s sincerity—a highly dubious proposition—and whether it can rein in the genocidal zionists.