Israeli Prime Minister's nod or "double-dealing" tactic? US Secretary of State states core point

Hopes for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip remain distant as Israel remains firm on its demands, while Hamas is angered by this intransigence.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted a ceasefire proposal in the Gaza Strip put forward by the United States. (Source: Getty Images)

According to Axios , Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is employing a "two-pronged" approach in ceasefire negotiations with the Hamas Islamic movement. He is showing a conciliatory stance towards the US but is tough on negotiators.

According to this source, the Israeli Prime Minister pledged to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that an agreement be reached for the release of hostages and a ceasefire. However, he did not provide flexibility for the negotiations, refusing to make concessions.

On August 18, the Israeli negotiating team stated that with flexibility, reaching an agreement was entirely possible, but Netanyahu criticized the team for their lack of consensus.

Israeli negotiators warned that maintaining their current position would make an agreement impossible, but the country's far-right government leader believed that if they stood firm, Hamas would be forced to compromise.

On August 19, Foreign Minister Blinken announced that Prime Minister Netanyahu had accepted the US proposal and urged Hamas to do the same. However, some Israeli officials said that Netanyahu only agreed to Washington's proposal after adding some modifications and knowing full well that Hamas would object.

And clearly, Hamas has rejected the latest proposal from the US and blamed Israel's hardline stance, amid optimistic statements from the White House that significant progress has been made in negotiations and that President Joe Biden hopes to reach an agreement by the end of this week.

Unlike the US, mediating officials from Egypt and Qatar were not optimistic about any real progress in the negotiations.

During a meeting with Mr. Blinken in New Alamein on August 20, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty affirmed that a ceasefire is the only solution to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

According to him, the upcoming round of negotiations requires "genuine political will" from Israel to end the conflict, while warning that the situation could spiral out of control, threatening regional peace if there is a lack of political determination.

On the same day, the President of this North African nation, Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, also held discussions with the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, focusing on measures to restore peace and stability in the region, including efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and the exchange of Israeli-Hamas hostages.

Regarding US Secretary of State Blinken's ninth trip to the Middle East since the outbreak of conflict in the Gaza Strip last October, on August 20th, speaking in Qatar, the diplomat stated that no time should be wasted in order to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

Speaking to reporters at Doha airport before returning to Washington, Blinken affirmed that "time is of the essence" for a ceasefire agreement, while also expressing his opposition to Israel's "prolonged" occupation of Gaza.

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