Washington confirms: Rescuing prisoners can only be achieved through negotiation
Matthew Miller, spokesman for the US State Department (archive - Associated Press)
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Washington confirms: Rescuing prisoners can only come through negotiation
North America
Israel
Dubai - Al Arabiya.net
Published on: September 4, 2024: 06:28 AM GST
Last update: September 4, 2024: 06:54 AM GST
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While the efforts of the mediators are still ongoing despite the many and extremely complex obstacles, in the hope of finding a solution that will stop the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip since last October and exchange prisoners with Hamas, the United States called for speed and flexibility in order to conclude an agreement.
"Negotiation is the solution"
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told Al Arabiya/Al Hadath on Tuesday evening that his country's priority now is to release the prisoners, adding that rescuing them is possible.
He also stressed that the best way to do this is through negotiation.
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As for Washington's decision to bring criminal charges against senior Hamas leaders, including the head of the movement's political bureau, Yahya Sinwar, he noted that his country attaches importance to arresting the wanted and bringing them to trial for their crimes.
Regarding the failure to reach an agreement to stop the war in the besieged Palestinian Strip, Matthew indicated that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's nine rounds did not fail, but rather Israel agreed to the proposal to close the gaps, while Hamas's approval remained, considering this progress.
He also considered that there were several executive details that the agreement needed to ensure the parties' commitment to their obligations, stressing that his country continues to work to reach a solution.
Killing of prisoners in Gaza upsets the Israeli government
In addition, the American official refused to comment on the Philadelphi Corridor dilemma and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's words about being present in the West Bank, but he stressed that Washington was completely clear about Gaza, the West Bank and the two-state solution.
Bodies of Second Prisoners
It is noteworthy that the Israeli army announced on Sunday that it had found the bodies of 6 detainees in a tunnel in the Rafah area in the southern Gaza Strip, claiming that they were killed "from a close range" before the soldiers reached them.
While Hamas held Israel responsible for the killing of the prisoners, the spokesman for the Qassam Brigades, the movement's military wing, Abu Obeida, said in a statement on Monday that "Netanyahu's insistence on releasing the prisoners through military pressure instead of concluding a deal means that they will return to their families in coffins."
He also confirmed issuing new instructions to the prisoners' guards regarding dealing with them if the Israeli army approaches their place of detention, perhaps indicating their elimination.
Since Sunday, Israel has been witnessing protests, accompanied by a partial strike on Monday in some towns and economic sectors, against the backdrop of finding the bodies of the prisoners.
While US President Joe Biden announced that Netanyahu is not making sufficient efforts to reach an agreement to return the detainees from the Strip.
However, Netanyahu refused what he called "succumbing" to the increasing internal and external pressures to conclude a ceasefire agreement in Gaza that would allow the release of the detainees held by Hamas, stressing his determination to continue military pressure on the movement in the Strip, and reiterating his commitment to remaining militarily in the Philadelphi axis on the border with Egypt.