AMMAN: Two senior US lawmakers who have held talks with Israeli and Arab leaders said on Tuesday they hoped a deal could be struck to allow a humanitarian pause in the war in Gaza ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
In an interview with Reuters in Amman, Democratic senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Coons — who said they had previously met with Jordan’s King Abdullah and held talks with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem — said there was “great hope” for the early release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for for a break in the fighting.
“Within a few weeks, we could see a pause before Ramadan,” Blumenthal, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Reuters.
Arab countries, led by Jordan, have expressed concern that Israel’s continued offensive against Hamas during the holy month of Ramadan could further escalate tensions in the war.
But talks brokered by Egypt and Qatar to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and secure the release of more than 100 Israeli hostages held in the Hamas-controlled territory have so far yielded no results. A round of inconclusive talks in Cairo ended last week.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would pay no price for the return of the hostages and said the way to free them was to increase military pressure on Gaza and defeat Hamas.
Still, Blumenthal said talks with Israeli leaders indicate Israel is open to a pause as it wraps up a phase of intense fighting in Gaza and instead shifts to a potential focus on counterinsurgency.
“Once there is an agreement on a truce, it opens the way for negotiations that could lead to self-government for the Palestinians, a state that gives them control over their own destiny,” Blumenthal said.
But an Israeli offensive in Rafah, a southern Gaza city where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have sought refuge, would complicate efforts to end the fighting, and senators warned that Israel had a duty to protect civilians and allow resettlement before moving on to Rafah. .
“There is an attempt to balance between supporting Israel and its war against Hamas and supporting the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for self-government and an end to the conflict,” Coons said.
US VETO CREATURE
Meanwhile, at the Security Council, the United States again exercised its veto, thwarting an Arab resolution calling for an urgent humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
The proposal, tabled by Algeria and a coalition of Arab states, received 13 positive votes, one abstention from Britain and a single negative vote from the United States.
Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzia condemned the US, claiming it had given Israel a “license to kill”.
