FROM THE NEW YORK CORRESPONDENT “When we met with Arab leaders, we agreed that the status quo of a Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip cannot continue,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday after the summit in Amman with his Jordanian counterparts and Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Lebanon and the Palestinians, where he wanted to discuss a difficult path to a two-state solution. Only two ministers from Egypt and Jordan spoke at a news conference with Blinken. While reiterating that a ceasefire would allow Hamas to regain strength and attack Israel again, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said “stop this madness,” citing Israeli “war crimes.” And he added: “What happens next? How can we talk about what will happen in Gaza if we don’t know what will be left of Gaza?” Arab leaders do not want to talk openly about the post-war period, even if the foreign minister praises them for the search for “true peace” in the ” “darkest moment” thanked. His Egyptian compatriot Sameh Shoukry called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. Separately, similar appeals came from Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and advisor to Emirati leader Anwar Gargash, who, however, warned that we cannot return to the “old containment policy before October 7.” The Egyptians and Qataris have proposed a pause in fighting of 6 to 12 hours a day to allow the influx of aid. have proposed that Israel release Palestinian women and elderly people held in Jewish state prisons in exchange for Hamas hostages.
Blinken’s mission on the Israeli side is to persuade Netanyahu to impose “humanitarian pauses” to let the hostages out and bring in 100 aid trucks daily: “There will be no partners for peace if they are consumed and alienated by the humanitarian catastrophe. “the perceived indifference to their suffering,” he said. A Biden administration official tells reporters that removing 200 people would require a “significant” pause in fighting but that there is “no agreement yet” with Israel. Of course, there are other plans: unarmed American drones will fly over the Gaza Strip to locate the hostages. But the White House also wants to let out a thousand of its citizens (and there are another 5,000 Palestinians with dual nationality), a process slowed by the fact that Hamas has tried to release its wounded militiamen in return by using their names to be included in lists rejected by the USA, Israel and Egypt.
Today the Foreign Minister is flying to Türkiye. And street protests await him with slogans like “Blink, complicity in the massacre, go away.” “I can no longer speak to Netanyahu, we have canceled him,” said President Erdogan, who recalled the ambassador from the Jewish state, as he has already done the Israeli Prime Minister had done so from Turkey and called for a ceasefire. Erdogan speaks of a two-state solution (it is unclear what role Hamas will play, which does not define a terrorist group but a liberation movement): “We want to see Gaza as a peaceful region that is part of the Palestinian state.” East Jerusalem as its capital”. The United States believes Arab support will be crucial in laying the foundation for Hamas’s replacement if Israel succeeds in rooting out the group. “We want a unified government between the West Bank and Gaza: it is an essential part of ultimately getting to two states.” And if you want to look beyond this conflict, I think there is a chance, we are hopeful,” says A US official said the idea of a Palestinian Authority at the helm of the Gaza Strip with a temporary international role, including organizations and a peacekeeping force, is being met with skepticism by many.