US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that despite reported comments from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel agreed to withdraw IDF (Israel Defence Forces) troops from Gaza, according to CNN.
The agreement is very clear on the schedule and the locations of IDF withdrawals from Gaza, and Israel has agreed to that.
Blinken was responding to Israeli media reports that Netanyahu told a group of families of victims and hostages that Israel would not leave the Philadelphi corridor along the Egypt-Gaza border and the Netzarim corridor, which crosses into Gaza, “regardless of the pressure to do so.” They were “strategic military and political assets,” Netanyahu added, according to reports.
The ceasefire agreement comprises three phases and will eventually include a full IDF withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. However, Israeli officials have repeatedly insisted that a solution must be found to better control the border between Egypt and Gaza, which has long been used for smuggling.
The US Secretary of State claimed that Netanyahu told him directly at their meeting that Israel had agreed to “the bridging proposal and thus the detailed plan” for withdrawal. According to Blinken, once Hamas agrees to the proposal, it will be “very important that everyone does what’s necessary to bring the flexibility to the table to make sure that we can get the implementation agreed to.”
Blinken referred to the so-called Tokyo Principles stating that the US will not allow “any long-term occupation of Gaza by Israel.”
The top US diplomat wrapped up his Middle East trip on Tuesday with stops in Egypt and Qatar. Blinken said he had “very productive” meetings with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, and intel chief Abbas Kamel.
He was also due to meet Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani in Doha on Tuesday night, but the meeting was cancelled due to the Qatari leader’s malaise. Instead, Blinken met with Minister of State Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi.
Earlier on Monday, he met in Israel with Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and President Isaac Herzog.
(This is) probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a ceasefire and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security.
