American Secretary of State Antony Blinken is going to Israel on Friday March 22 to try to secure a truce agreement in Gaza at a time when the UN Security Council must decide on a United States resolution on an “immediate ceasefire” in the war-ravaged territory.
Information to remember
⇒ US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits Israel
⇒ Israel announces the seizure of 800 hectares of land in the occupied West Bank
⇒ UN Security Council examines US draft resolution on ceasefire
Antony Blinken in Israel to demand a truce
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv this morning from Cairo. He met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for around forty minutes at Kirya, the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense, and must now participate in a meeting of the war cabinet.
Blinken must emphasize the urgency of increasing humanitarian aid in the Palestinian territory and urge Israel not to launch a major ground offensive in Rafah, the large city in southern Gaza where, according to the UN, some 1,000 people are massed. 5 million people, the vast majority displaced by the war triggered by the unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israeli soil on October 7.
Washington, Israel’s historic ally, is now even bringing before the UN Security Council a draft resolution mentioning “the need for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in connection with the release of the hostages” kidnapped on the 7th. October by Hamas in Israel and held in Gaza, after having vetoed several previous texts. Far from the unwavering support of the first months, faced with the “appalling” humanitarian situation in Gaza, the Democratic administration of Joe Biden is calling on the government of Benjamin Netanyahu not to engage in a ground offensive on Rafah at the risk of disaster announcement. “There are better ways to deal with the Hamas threat,” Blinken said Thursday evening in Cairo, calling such an operation “a mistake” and “unnecessary.”
Israel announces seizure of 800 hectares of land in occupied West Bank
The Israeli government announced on Friday the seizure of 800 hectares of land in the Jordan Valley, in the occupied West Bank, the same day as US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visited Israel.
This announcement by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a figure of the far right and Jewish colonization in the West Bank, concerns the largest seizure of land in Palestinian territory since the Oslo peace accords in 1993, according to the Israeli organization anti-colonization Peace now.
Finland resumes aid to UNRWA
Finland announced on Friday that it would resume its funding of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), almost two months after having suspended it like around fifteen countries.
“The improvement of risk management within Unrwa, that is to say the prevention of professional misconduct, and the establishment of close monitoring, gives us sufficient guarantees at this stage to resume aid,” Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio said in a statement.
The 27 of the EU call for an “immediate humanitarian pause”
The leaders of the 27, meeting at a summit in Brussels, called Thursday for an “immediate humanitarian pause” in Gaza, and urged Israel not to launch a ground operation in Rafah, in a joint declaration. “The European Council calls for an immediate humanitarian pause leading to a lasting ceasefire, (calls) for the unconditional release of all hostages and the provision of humanitarian aid,” according to this text.
In this declaration on the situation in Gaza, the first adopted by the 27 since the end of October, European leaders also urge Israel “not to carry out a ground operation in Rafah”, in the south of the Strip. Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Gazans are refugees.
UN examines US ceasefire plan
The United States has for the first time presented a draft resolution to the UN Security Council on an “immediate ceasefire linked to the release of hostages” held in Gaza since the start of the war. The text consulted by AFP, and which must be submitted to the Security Council for a vote on Friday March 22, underlines “the need for an immediate and lasting ceasefire to protect civilians on all sides, allow the provision of essential humanitarian aid.
The United States, Israel’s historic ally, has already vetoed several Security Council resolutions calling for a ceasefire, believing that this would have benefited Hamas. But faced with the heavy human toll and the threat of famine, Washington is now redoubling its efforts to reach a truce and avoid a ground offensive on Rafah.
UK and Australia want ‘immediate end to fighting’
The United Kingdom, permanent member of the UN Security Council, and Australia called on Friday March 22 in the morning for an “immediate end to the fighting” in the Gaza Strip, to allow “the delivery of aid and release of hostages”.
Talks continue in Qatar
Discussions on a truce continue in Doha between representatives of the United States, Qatar and Egypt. The head of Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service, David Barnea, is scheduled to meet CIA Director William Burns there on Friday, as well as Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdelrahman Al-Thani and Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel .
After demanding a definitive ceasefire, Hamas changed its position last week by accepting the principle of a six-week pause in the fighting. But disputes seem to persist over the exchange of Israeli hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners imprisoned in Israel.