Blinken assures that Netanyahu supports the ceasefire plan for Gaza

June 11 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, assured this Tuesday that the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, has expressed his explicit support for the ceasefire plan announced by the North American president, Joe Biden, and endorsed on Monday. by a resolution of the United Nations Security Council.

“I met with Prime Minister Netanyahu last night and he reaffirmed his commitment to the proposal,” said Blinken, in statements to the media during a new tour of the region. The head of North American diplomacy has met with several Israeli political leaders, also from the opposition, as well as with the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority.

According to Blinken, now “everyone” is in favor of the initiative “except for one vote, that of Hamas.” The American Secretary of State has suggested in response to questions from the press that the Israeli Government would not change its mind if the Palestinian militia ended up giving its approval to Biden’s plan.

Likewise, he has ruled out that there may be irreconcilable positions regarding the possibility of reaching a permanent ceasefire, since he considers that any progress in this regard “has to be negotiated.” “While these negotiations last, the ceasefire that would come into force immediately would be maintained, which is objectively good for everyone,” he added, without anticipating developments regarding potential discrepancies in successive phases.

The plan is divided into three phases, in which the first proposes the exchange of hostages for prisoners and a short-term ceasefire. The second provides for a “permanent cessation of hostilities” and the total withdrawal of Israeli military forces from Gaza, according to the text of the resolution presented by the United States to the UN. The third and final phase includes a multi-year reconstruction plan for the Gaza Strip.