Israel’s national security cabinet meet today to discuss ceasefire possibilities

Tel Aviv, Aug 22 (IANS) Israel’s national security cabinet will meet on Thursday to discuss the ceasefire possibilities in its ongoing war against the militant Palestinian outfit, Hamas.

The meeting will be held at the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) headquarters in Kirya, Tel Aviv.

Israeli media have reported that the meeting is scheduled to discuss the future of indirect ceasefire talks.

The Cairo mediatory talks, which were scheduled for this week, seem to be a non-starter after Israel insisted that it will retain its Army in the Philadelphi and Netzarim Corridors.

It may be recalled that the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken was in the Middle East from Sunday till Tuesday (This is the ninth visit of the top US official to the Middle East since October 7).

Blinken had a series of meetings with top Israeli leadership, including President Issac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. He also met the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah El Sissi and Qatar Prime Minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim

The US State secretary after his 3-hour long meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on August 19 said that the Israel side had agreed to the “bridging proposal” put forward by America to achieve peace.

However, Netanyahu while meeting with families of slain soldiers categorically stated that the Israeli Army would be stationed at the Philadelphi Corridor and Netzarim Corridor.

Hamas has in a joint statement with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad on late Wednesday night confirmed that it would not accept anything less than an agreement that includes a comprehensive ceasefire and complete withdrawal of the Israel Army from the Gaza Strip.

Hamas also said that Israel was squarely responsible for the collapse of the talks by continuing the aggression and denying what was agreed upon in the earlier stages.

It may be recalled that the recent indirect ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have been based on an outline laid out by the US President, Joe Biden at the end of May.

However, with the Israeli insistence on retaining its troops in both the Philadelphi Corridor and Netzarim Corridor, the indirect peace talks are likely to fall apart.

The media in the region has reported that according to senior Israeli officials, the talks are on the brink of collapse and chances for a hostage deal are also very remote.

–IANS

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