Antony Blinken
The secretary of state met with Netanyahu in Jerusalem.
Israel’s defense minister called on the Hamas terrorists to “cease fire and immediately release the hostages.”
Washington’s threat sends a “dangerous message” to two countries’ common enemies, says the pro-Israel group.
Failure to comply “may have implications for U.S. policy,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reportedly wrote.
The U.S. secretary of state said Jerusalem has “a clear and very legitimate interest” in eliminating the threat posed by Hezbollah.
“If there were to be a full-scale war—which we don’t have and which we’re working to avoid—that’s actually not going to solve the problem,” said the U.S. secretary of state.
Washington is still working with Egypt and Qatar to come up with a revised Israel-Hamas agreement.
We are working with our Egyptian and Qatari counterparts to bridge the gaps and we’ll see what the parties say, the secretary of state said.
Washington is increasingly pessimistic due to Hamas’s public rejections of the latest bridging proposal, but still holds out hope.
The move drew criticism from Republicans on Capitol Hill, with Sen. Ted Cruz saying it was an example of the White House’s appeasement policy toward Tehran.
“We’re not going to parse the secretary’s words,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson told JNS.
Washington’s top diplomat said he held a “very constructive” meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the subject.
